KL This Week: 5 Lakh Houses Under LIFE Mission, 3.85 Lakh Houses Completed

Newsclick brings important developments from Kerala during the week including the state scheduled for single-phase polls, the completion of 3.85 lakh houses under the LIFE Mission scheme of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government, continuing protest against the notification of the Citizenship Act (CAA), 2019, and the protest by the Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) with the slogan of 'Defeat Modi, Save India'. 

STATE TO VOTE IN SINGLE PHASE

Kerala will go to the polling booths on April 26, in a single phase as per the announcement of the Election Commission of India (ECI). The last date for filing the nominations is on April 4 and withdrawal on April 6. The state is set to witness stiff competition between the ruling LDF and the Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) led by the Congress. 

The UDF has renominated 17 of its 18 sitting members of Parliament, including Rahul Gandhi from Wayanad, while the LDF has nominated a strong array of leaders. The Left  is aiming to increase its strength in the Lok Sabha after a setback in the last election, when the is managed to win only from Alappuzha constituency. 

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has fielded Union ministers Rajeev Chandrasekhar and V Muraleedharan from Thiruvananthapuram and Attingal constituencies, respectively. The Bharatiya Dharma Jana Sena (BDJS), an ally of BJP, also announced its candidates from four constituencies.

The LDF had announced candidates much earlier, giving it an edge over the other parties with a round of campaign, Assembly level conventions and meetings of booth committees. 

CONSTRUCTION OF HOUSES UNDER LIFE MISSION 

The LDF government has so far granted approval for the construction of five lakh houses under the LIFE Mission, a scheme conceived to eradicate homelessness in the state. A sum of Rs 130 crore has been sanctioned by the finance department for the construction of houses, while a loan of Rs 448.34 crore is expected from HUDCO.

With the state government providing guarantee, a sum of Rs 212.77 crore has been sanctioned for the construction of houses in the urban areas. An estimated 2.5 lakh more houses would be constructed in the next two years, with an investment of Rs 10,000 crore. Of the 5,00,038 houses granted approval, 3,85,145 houses have been completed, with the work progressing for completion of another 1,14,893 houses.

The minister for local self government department M B Rajesh stated that Rs 17,209.09 crore had been earmarked toward the mission, with the Union government contributing only Rs 2,081.69 crore, which is 12.09% of the total expenditure. 

ANTI-CAA PROTEST CONTINUES

The LDF, Democratic Youth Federation of India (DYFI), Students Federation of India (SFI) and several other organisations continue to hold protests against the notification of the CAA. The LDF and DYFI are holding night marches across the state, terming the implementation of CAA as a move to polarise the society in religious lines. 

The DYFI accused the BJP government of implementing the CAA to distract the people from the verdict of the Supreme Court on the Electoral Bonds. The organisation also held rail blockades across the state. 

The SFI and DYFI also raised banners against CAA during a football match of the Indian Super League (ISL) held in Ernakulam. 

SKM HOLDS PROTEST, CALLS FOR DEFEAT BJP GOVT

The SKM, as part of the national level campaign, held marches and protests across the 140 Assembly constituencies as part of the agitation programme against the BJP regime. The organisations affiliated to the SKM accused the Union government of following pro- corporate policies against the interest of farmers, who were suffering due to high input costs and reducing market prices. 

The demand is also for minimum support price (MSP), subsidy for fertilisers and proper insurance for crops. The other demands include compensation for farmers who lost lives during the historic farmers struggle and implementation of promises made to the SKM during the struggle.