THIRUVANANTHAPURAM : The govt approved a Reintegration Project worth Rs 2,450 crore, designed to provide thousands of fisherfolk families, reliable housing in safe zones. As per the scheme, 18,685 families living within 50 meters of the tidal line, will be provided land and house of their own. The project will be completed in three phases.
In the initial phase govt will disburse Rs 998.61 crore while Rs 795.54 crore and Rs 654.85 crore will be released in the 2nd and 3rd phase respectively. Of the total costs, Rs 1,398 crore will be shelled out from the Chief Minister’s Disaster Relief Fund. The rest will come from the Department of Fisheries.
Scores of harbours along the State’s 580 Km coastline face constant onslaughts from the seas. This is why Rehabilitation package for fisherfolks running into crores of rupees, was a priority item in the election manifesto, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in the capital. In view of threats posed by climate change, more projects than envisaged originally in the manifesto, are being considered for the upliftment of the fisherfolk community, he added.
Knowing the distress faced by the coastal folk at close quarters, the Reintegration Programme is one among those, whose funds are met by solely the State govt , the minister said. A committee headed by respective Collectors will oversee progress of the project in all districts, he added.
