Kerala Assembly: Opposition alleges government lapses in LIFE, walks out

Thiruvananthapuram: The Opposition staged a walkout from the Assembly on Wednesday alleging government lapses in implementing the LIFE mission (Livelihood Inclusion and Financial Empowerment) that aims at providing housing to all.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said in reply to an adjournment motion that work on 66,750 houses, that were remaining incomplete under various schemes, would be completed by March 31.

He also alleged serious lapses by many local bodies in submitting the list of beneficiaries. Though the deadline for submitting the list was December 31, only 797 of the 1034 local bodies had so far submitted it. All other local bodies were directed to approve the list within five days.

Speaker P. Sreeramakrishnan denied permission for the adjournment motion on the basis of the chief minister's reply.

Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala said that the government had created a mess over the project by issuing complex guidelines and nearly 40 orders for identifying beneficiaries. He also alleged that all the four missions launched by the government were progressing at a snail's pace.