Five months on, housing project yet to take off

Alappuzha: Even after five months since the inauguration of Alappuzha district administration's housing project, the venture is yet to take off.
On February 12, then Alappuzha district collector N Padmakumar laid the foundation stone for constructing 40 houses under the Bhavana Bharatham project. Arukutty Cherukadu Industries Marine Division allotted 40 cents to the Bhavana Bharatham Society for the housing scheme.The project aims to give houses to at least 1,000 homeless people in the district in two years.
However, the construction of the houses has not been kicked off till now and it is learned that the district administration has stopped all the activities in connection with the project.
The district administration has rolled out the Bhavana Bharatham project when the then collector came to know that the district was having more than 25,000 homeless families. So a detailed project report was forwarded to then chief minister Oommen Chandy.
Chandy during his mass contact programme in Alappuzha in January 2015 announced that the housing project will be executed in Alappuzha in the first phase, and in the second leg, the project will be extended to other districts. He appreciated the district administration for coming forward with this novel initiative.
Project's former chief executive officer P S Rajeev said after the foundation stone-laying ceremony, Padmakumar was transferred in the wake of assembly polls. "New collector R Girija took charge and she has not convened any meeting in this connection so far. There was a committee of the district administration for carrying out the project. The collector has not inquired anything in connection with the project,'' Rajeev said.
"The project's aim is good. I will soon look into the project and take steps for starting the construction of houses. I think there is no apathy from the part of the district administration in executing the project,'' the collector said.