Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has dismissed the opposition charge that the ruling LDF government’s ambitious housing scheme ‘Life Mission’ was going on at a slow pace and said over 500,000 beneficiaries had been identified under the initiative.

The all-women network Kudumbashree had conducted a state-wide survey and as many as 797 local self government bodies had finalised the list of beneficiaries, he told the state Assembly.

Vijayan was replying to a notice for adjournment motion by the Congress-led UDF opposition members, alleging confusion and technical complexities in identifying beneficiaries under the programme.

The Chief Minister said that a total of 75,065 Scheduled Caste people, 14,085 Scheduled Tribes and 6,000 fishermen were among those identified as beneficiaries.

The aim was to complete construction of 66,750 houses, work of which began under various earlier schemes but remained incomplete, before March 31 this year, he said.

Construction of neither houses of those who have neither land nor houses would be considered in the next phase, Vijayan said.

(ends)