Actor Mammootty arrives for a state function organized as part of Kerala Day celebrations at the Central Stadium in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday. | Photo credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN
The declaration of Kerala as a state free from extreme poverty is the beginning of a social mechanism that will provide a safety net to anyone who falls into poverty or crisis, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said after making the official announcement at a public function at the Central Stadium in the capital on Saturday.
“Now we can say with certainty that the government’s goal of improving Kerala’s standard of living at par with developed countries is not impossible. It is not just the achievement of the government, but of the people who faced all the crises with unity and the thousands of volunteers and officials who went from house to house to ensure basic needs for everyone. This is not just a welfare project but also the realization of the ideal economic constitution of India,” said Mr. Vijayan.
He outlined the timeline of the Eradication of Extreme Poverty Project (EPEP) from the decision to implement it at the first cabinet meeting of the current Left Democratic Front (LDF) government in May 2021 to the identification of beneficiaries through a participatory process at the local level, the preparation of micro plans for each of the 64,006 families, where one remaining technical meeting of the cabinet was addressed last week. to complete the project.
“I mentioned this experience only to make everyone understand that the statement is not a hoax but a reality. It is unfortunate that such remarks were made about the project. Everyone cooperated and contributed to the success of the project,” said Mr. Vijayan.
Actor Mammootty, the chief guest, making his first public appearance after an eight-month hiatus from acting for medical treatment, said the attainment of extreme poverty is the result of social and democratic awareness of our people.
“The world has often looked at our social indicators. Our population has unitedly overcome many adversities. The mutual trust and love that is visible here is our wealth. After we deal with extreme poverty, we must also deal with poverty. When we talk about development, we must realize that the construction of highways and huge buildings alone will not lead to development. That is why poverty must be eradicated. I hope that this system of governance will able to achieve,” he said.
Local Government Minister MB Rajesh, who presided over the function, said the government did not wait for development to reach everyone but went across the state to identify the poorest of the poor without basic documents to access welfare mechanisms. Micro plans were prepared for each family based on their needs for the first time in the country, he said.
Mr. Vijayan released the EPEP project report by handing over the first copy to Mr. Mammootty.
Ministers and MLAs of the ruling front were present in the packed stadium. Leader of the Opposition VD Satheesan chose to stay away, though he was invited to the event.
Published – 01 Nov 2025 21:08 IST
