A couple who had set aside a piece of land to fund their Haj pilgrimage has donated it for the State government's Livelihood Inclusion Financial Empowerment (LIFE) Housing Mission to construct houses for economically weaker sections. The mission had recently launched a campaign titled 'Manassodithiri Mannu' requesting people to contribute land for the project.
Haneefa and Jasmine from Kozhencherry in Pathanamthitta district donated 28 cents of land for the campaign. They had earlier planned to sell the land to fund their Haj pilgrimage. However, they later decided to donate to the cause of building houses for the poor.
Health Minister Veena George on Sunday visited their house to accept their letter in which they agreed to donate the land. Minister for Local Self-Governments M.V. Govindan contacted the couple over phone and lauded them for their gesture. He said that they had set a model for the society.
The Manassodithiri Mannu campaign requesting people to contribute land for the project has started yielding results. Till now, a total of 926.75 cents of land have been received in 13 different places for constructing houses under the LIFE Mission. In addition, a total of 830.8 cents have been promised in 30 different places. Many, including filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, have come forward offering land and funds for the project. Sponsorship of ₹25 crore has been received for constructing houses for 1,000 beneficiaries.
Under the LIFE project, a total of 2,95,006 houses have been constructed until now, while 34,374 houses and 27 flat complexes are in various stages of completion. Mr. Govindan said the list of beneficiaries for the next phase will be published soon.
