In Kerala, developments are happening slowly. A housing project in Kerala that was expected to get houses for the homeless with the help of the housing board department, has turned out to be a mess with lakhs already spent. Even seven years after the inauguration of the Saphalyam housing project, the houses are not ready to live as the works halted years ago. Saphalyam housing project was introduced in 2013.
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As per the scheme, the housing board was deemed to build flats, with a contribution from the government, voluntary organization, a loan from Housing and Urban Development Corporation Ltd (HUDCO) and by collecting an amount from the beneficiary. A total of 1008 flats were to be constructed in 10 villages of seven districts as per the initial plan announced by then Finance Minister K M Mani of the United Democratic Front (UDF) government. Each apartment was estimated to cost around Rs 2.5 lakh. Out of this, Rs 50000 was to be paid by the beneficiary at the beginning and Rs one lakh in installments.
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Another Rs one lakh was to be given by the government. However, in many places, the construction has been halted for several years due to various issues and the money spent wasted. In Kozhikode's Chelannur panchayat, construction of a flat consisting of three blocks with more than 70 apartments had started around six years ago. But the construction was stopped within a year and almost Rs 65 lakh was spent to build the structure. But no further tasks were done as there was no availability of water in the area.
