The implementation of the ‘Punargeham’ rehabilitation scheme for fishermen families living close to vulnerable coastal areas in Kozhikode district continues to be a challenge for the Fisheries department even after the formation of separate people’s committees under various local bodies. As many as 125 beneficiaries who cooperated with the scheme for safe housing are now struggling to get their funds released to complete construction of houses.
The concerns of families who protested in front of Fisheries department officials are unlikely to be addressed soon owing to shortage of funds. The project coordinators and motivators appointed by the department have left their jobs amid the looming financial crisis.
Around 2,600 families in Kozhikode district were expected to get benefits under the rehabilitation scheme. Of them, 600 families were ready to accept the terms and conditions of the project which promised ₹10 lakh for a family to purchase three cents and construct a 600-sqft house. The department had shortlisted 273 families in the first phase of which 125 applicants were found raising protest against deferred fund allotments.
The functionaries of various fishermen’s associations claimed that there were applicants who secured high interest loans with the hope that the government could release funds in time. Many were forced to stop construction of houses midway. The registration of land was also postponed, they said.
They complained that poor cooperation by a majority of fishers was due to the lack of adequate funds. A good piece of land with better road access and a standard house would never be a reality with just ₹10 lakh, but many were opting for it out of helplessness, they claimed.
There were protests claiming that the scheme would dislocate fishers living closer to harbours in the district. Efforts made by various special committees equally failed to promote the scheme.
Meanwhile, Fisheries department sources said the fund allocation could be cleared any time as reports had already been forwarded to the authorities concerned.
