Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is set to officially declare Kerala free from extreme poverty at a function to be held at the Central Stadium in the capital on November 1, 2025. Actors Mohanlal, Mammootty, and Kamal Haasan will be special guests at the event, to which all Ministers as well as the Leader of the Opposition will be invited, Minister for Local Self-Governments MB Rajesh confirmed during a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday.
Rajesh said that the extreme poverty eradication programme was launched in 2021 as one of the first Cabinet decisions of the current Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.
“According to the NITI Aayog’s study in 2021, Kerala is the state with the lowest poverty rate in the country, with a poverty rate of 0.7 per cent of the total population. The government took the lead in reaching out to this small population and meeting their needs. Kerala will become the first State in the country to achieve this landmark,” he said.
After conducting ground-level surveys, 64,006 families across the state were identified as extremely poor, based on factors such as food, health, livelihood, and shelter. Many marginalised people, whose names were not even on the voters' list and who did not even possess a ration card or Aadhaar card, were included in this list. Detailed micro-plans covering immediate and long-term needs were prepared for each of the families. Essential documents were provided to 21,263 individuals who lacked them. Houses were provided to 3,913 families, land for 1,338 families, and house repair works of up to ₹2 lakh each were completed for 5,651 families, he detailed.
“Out of 64,006 families identified in the 2021 survey, 4,421 individuals (who were classed as single-member families in the survey) died in the intervening years. Despite extensive checks, contacts, and efforts, 261 families living as nomads could not be located during this process, as a vast majority of these are migrants to other States. Arrangements have been made to provide them with necessary help if they return. There are 47 cases where different members of the same family are listed in various local bodies. Micro-plans have been prepared treating them as a single family. Thus, except for 4,729 families, the remaining 59,277 families have been uplifted from extreme poverty,” said Rajesh.
He attributed the state's achievement of this landmark to integrating all available government assistance and services across various schemes, in addition to introducing special schemes. The social audit process of the scheme is also being completed, and each beneficiary’s house has been geo-tagged and its data collected.
“It is the result of a collective effort as all local bodies, including those ruled by the Opposition front, also had a role to play in this,” the Minister concluded.
General Education Minister V Sivankutty, who will head the organising committee for the November 1 event, also attended the press conference.
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