Curation Team
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Local self-govt and excise minister M B Rajesh said in the assembly on Wednesday that the state govt was committed to addressing delays in disbursing funds for house construction under the Life Mission project, while highlighting the scale of progress achieved so far.
Replying to a calling attention motion by Congress MLA P C Vishnunath, the minister said since the project’s launch in 2017 till Sept 16, 2025, a total of 5,95,536 beneficiaries had been selected. Of these, 4,62,412 families have received completed houses, while another 1,33,124 houses are under construction. “By the end of the present govt’s term, more than six lakh beneficiaries will have received houses under the Mission,” Rajesh said.
Explaining the financial structure, he said the govt provides Rs 4 lakh for each house, sourced from the state’s share, contributions from local bodies and a loan component from Hudco. Local bodies are tasked with disbursing their share to beneficiaries. “In cases where local bodies over-committed beyond their capacity, the state stepped in to provide additional resources,” he said.
To ease fund flow issues, Rajesh said the govt recently authorised additional borrowing. “As per the Aug 21, 2025 order, permission was given to raise another Rs 1,500 crore through the Kerala Urban and Rural Development Finance Corporation. This ensures that future instalments under the scheme will not face disruption,” he said.
Rajesh also contrasted Kerala‘s scheme with the central govt’s PM Awas Yojana (PMAY). “Under PMAY, the Centre provides only Rs 72,000 per unit, with the state contributing Rs 48,000 and another Rs 15,000 mobilised through the employment guarantee scheme. The total unit cost is just Rs 1.35 lakh. Against this, Kerala provides Rs 4 lakh per house under Life Mission — the highest assistance of any state. For tribal families and those classified as extremely poor, support is Rs 6 lakh. Recently, the govt also decided to extend Rs 6 lakh to landless homeless families to purchase land and build a house,” he said.To date, Rs 18,885 crore has been disbursed under Life Mission — including Rs 16,000 crore raised by the state and only Rs 2,080 crore from the Centre.
Raising the issue, Vishnunath said the delays had left many beneficiaries stranded. “Several families are unable to complete their houses, including those who demolished existing homes after being promised new ones. The state fixed Rs 4 lakh per unit 10 years ago, but with today’s construction costs, that amount is insufficient. The govt should immediately revise the assistance,” he said. Rajesh countered that, saying while such criticisms reflected real challenges, the overall progress demonstrated the programme’s effectiveness.
