Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Saturday declared in a rally that the state is free from extreme poverty. Vijayan made the announcement in a special session of the House called on the occasion of Kerala’s ‘Piravi’ or formation day.
Addressing the gathering, Vijayan said, “We celebrate every Kerala Piravi (State Formation Day) with joy. But this year’s Kerala Piravi Day is the dawn of a new era for the people of Kerala.”
“Today’s Kerala Piravi marks a place in history because we have succeeded in making Kerala India’s first state without extreme poverty,” he announced.
The Prime Minister said that the concept of forming linguistic states was promoted by the national movement a hundred years ago. “However, in the early years after independence, it took long and intense struggles to achieve it.
“The culmination of these struggles was the formation of a united Kerala, the realization of the dream of the Malayalis. Today marks 69 years since the formation of a united Kerala,” he added.
Vijayan emphasized that eradicating extreme poverty was one of the key decisions taken in the very first cabinet meeting after the swearing-in of the new ministry in 2021. “It was also the beginning of the fulfillment of one of the most important promises made to the people during the legislative elections.”
How did Kerala achieve this feat?
The Kerala government said it has started the process of identifying families living in extreme poverty. Over two months, they witnessed active public participation from various stakeholders including MLAs, local body representatives, Kudumbashree workers, volunteers and officials to help improve their status.
The project began with a pilot implementation in Wadakkanchery and Anchuthengu and Thirunelli Grama Panchayats before being scaled up across the state. The initiative involved identifying beneficiary families through collective feedback and suggestions from all parts of society.
“This historic project began with the identification of beneficiary families through the participation of all sections of the society and incorporating the ideas that emerged from their collective feedback and suggestions. The identification of extreme poverty was first implemented on a pilot basis in Wadakkanchery village and Anchuthengu and Thirunelli Grama Panchayats. It was later expanded to the entire state,” shared the CM.
