Surrendered Maoist leader to get house in Kerala

Thiruvananthapuram: A surrendered Maoist, who had returned to the mainstream after giving up the path of armed struggle, will soon get his own house in Kerala, thanks to a rehabilitation package of the state government.

A cabinet meeting, chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has decided to construct a house for Lijesh alias Ramu, former leader of a banned outfit who had surrendered before the authorities some time back.

It has directed the Collector and the district police chief of Ernakulam to jointly find a suitable land for the same in the district, a CMO statement said on Wednesday.

After identifying the land, the house would be constructed under the supervision of the district Collector, it said.

A panel, comprising the Collector, district Police Chief and Panchayat Deputy Director, would be formed to evaluate the progress of the construction.

"A maximum amount of Rs 15 lakh will be sanctioned for finding the land and building the house," the statement said.

As per an order issued in 2018, the state government had granted nod to implement the surrender-cum-rehabilitation package for Maoists.

Benefits were given to Lijesh under the package after he surrendered, it added.

Among other things, the Cabinet also gave an in-principle nod for setting up "work-near-home" facilities under state IT parks at various locations.

The proposed work-near-home model is to set up IT spaces of 5,000 to 50,000 sq km away from the three major IT parks in the state, utilising the existing facilities at those locations, the CMO statement added.