Travel for educational purposes would be made free on Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (KSRTC) buses for children from extremely poor families. The decision was taken at a meeting of the project for elimination of extreme poverty, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, here on Wednesday.
For students from such indigent families who have cleared Class X, arrangements would be made for continuous education in nearby schools. They would be given higher education scholarships, stipend and free food.
The Chief Minister directed that steps be expedited for providing land and houses for the extremely poor who have neither land nor house of their own. A special medical board would be set up for issuing Unique Disability Identity cards for the differently abled.
Mr. Vijayan suggested at the meeting that a source of income be found for the members of the extremely poor families so that they can become financially independent. Special care and rehabilitation would be required for those with mental health challenges. For vagrants with mental health issues, services of mental health experts in medical college hospitals and district hospitals should be provided.
He also directed that applications for changing the category of ration cards be expedited.
The meeting pointed out that there were mainly four important components determining extreme poverty, namely health, food, income and dwelling place.
It is estimated that there are 4,736 families in the State for whom finding daily food alone is very difficult. There are 28,663 individuals in 13,753 families with severe health challenges. There are 1,705 families for whom there are serious income issues. For 8,671 families in the State, food as well as health are difficult propositions.
Those on the extremely poor list have all been given rights documents. Their details can be scrutinised by departments in the MIS portal. Job cards have been distributed to many for joining the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGS). Cattle and sewing machines have been provided as part of ensuring livelihood.
The State is aiming at declaring Kerala ‘ridden of extreme poverty’ on November 1, 2025. Phase 1 and 2 of the declaration will be made this year and in 2024 respectively, with details on the number of families who have been uplifted from extreme poverty.
Ministers K.N. Balagopal, K. Rajan, K. Radhakrishnan, Saji Cherian, P.A. Mohamed Riyas, V. Sivankutty, M.B. Rajesh, Veena George, R. Bindu, A.K. Saseendran and Antony Raju, and Chief Secretary V. Venu were among those present at the meeting.
