Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan declared the State as free from extreme poverty at a special session of the Assembly on the occasion of ‘Kerala Piravi’ (Birthday) on Saturday, November 1, making it the first Indian State to make such a declaration. Vijayan, who called this year’s Kerala Piravi the birth of a new era for Kerala, spoke at length about the four-year-long process that led to the declaration. Refuting the Opposition's allegations that the declaration was a publicity stunt ahead of the local body elections, he said that the implementation of the Extreme Poverty Alleviation Project (EPEP) was a decision taken in the first Cabinet meeting of the current Left Democratic Front (LDF) in 2021. “We only make promises we can fulfil and we have fulfilled what we promised,” he said.
Chief Minister said that the process of identifying the extremely poor families began within two months of that decision, with active public participation, including local body representatives, Kudumbashree workers, volunteers and officials. The families identified through data collection at the local body level were scrutinised and recommended by the ward committees. This was subjected to a super check and a draft list was prepared. This list was presented to the Grama Sabhas, and from it, 1,03,099 individuals from 64,006 families were identified as extremely poor. Considering food, health, housing and income as the critical factors for identifying the extremely poor, micro plans were prepared for each family.
“In the first phase of the EPEP, essential documents were provided to 21,263 people, who were struggling without even the basic documents such as a ration card or an Aadhaar card. Regular supply of food has now been ensured through Kudumbashree for 20,648 extremely poor families. Health services, access to medicines, vaccinations, palliative care and organ transplants have been ensured,” he said, detailing the project for poverty eradication.
Houses were provided under the LIFE mission for 4,677 families, while 2,713 families were provided with land and houses. Livelihood support was provided to 4,394 families. A total of 35,041 families were made part of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). A scheme to provide special attention to 5,583 children through the Education Department and free travel for educational purposes was implemented. Scholarships were provided to 331 students. A total of 428 single-member families were shifted to safe shelter homes.
The Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) walked out of the Session, questioning the propriety of convening a special session just for the Chief Minister to make a statement under Rule 300 of the house procedures. Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan also called it a “hollow proclamation”.
Quoting academic journals and United Nations reports from the 1970s, which indicated that Kerala was facing issues including poverty and high birth rates, Vijayan said that the State has made commendable progress since those days through continuous interventions by mass movements and progressive Governments as well as comprehensive reforms in agrarian relations, public intervention in the health and education sectors.
“The process of eradicating extreme poverty is a continuation of the steps taken earlier for the universal public distribution system and for the eradication of landlessness and homelessness. Kerala has made remarkable progress in the Sustainable Development Index envisioned by the United Nations by eradicating extreme poverty. Our State is a laboratory for many welfare activities. In terms of extreme poverty alleviation, too, we can hope that our experiments will become a model that other states in the country can benefit from. This proud achievement belongs to the entire people of Kerala. We are witnessing a historic moment,” he said.
Chief Minister said that the Government has spent over `1,000 crore for the implementation of the scheme. Steps should be taken to ensure that none of those who have been freed fall back into extreme poverty. For this, proper checks need to be carried out from time to time.
