528 families to get houses in Kochi

KOCHI: A total of 528 homeless families in Kochi Corporation area will get houses under the second phase of state government's LIFE Mission housing scheme. Paper works have been completed for the second phase and construction of houses will be expected to be complete by March 2019.

"Rs.4 lakhs will be provided for the beneficiary families for house construction. The beneficiaries can also avail loan of Rs.6 lakhs from Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), which is interest-free. The house will have all facilities including two bedrooms, kitchen and bathroom," said an official with LIFE Mission in Kochi Corporation. 

In the second phase, houses are being constructed for families with own land. 

"Rs. 4 lakhs is sufficient to construct 420 square feet house with all basic facilities and the beneficiaries need not raise additional funds for designing and planning. The civic body has made necessary arrangements for designing and planning houses in partnership with a construction company," the official added.
  
The first phase of the project has been almost completed in the Corporation. The incomplete or non-starter houses for which funds were given earlier under various housing schemes have been completed in the first phase. A total of 67 houses were included in phase I of which 64 have been completed. 

There are 13,900 families who have no land and house in City Corporation area who will benefit under the third phase of LIFE Mission. According to civic authorities identifying land for constructing houses for these families is the major challenge for completing the third phase.