The government has accorded administrative sanction for ₹2,450 crore to Fisheries Department’s Punargeham project to rehabilitate 18,685 fisher families living within 50 m from the coastline.
The project has been conceived to provide safe housing for all fisher families residing in areas vulnerable to sea erosion. Selected fisher families from nine coastal districts will be the beneficiaries of the project.
Special survey
“The 18,685 families were selected after a special survey conducted by the department,” said Fisheries Minister J. Mercykutty Amma.
While ₹1,398 crore will be allocated from Chief Minister’s Distress Relief Fund (CMDRF) for the ₹2,540-crore project, Fisheries Department will provide the rest ₹1,052 crore. A total of 421 acres of land is required and the department has identified the area needed in each district. Punargeham will be implemented in three phases and ₹998 crore will be spent on the first phase for rehabilitating 8,487 families. ₹797 crore and ₹655 crore will be spent during next two phases for rehabilitating 5,099 families in each.
As part of the project, each family will receive ₹10 lakh, which includes ₹6 lakh for purchasing land and ₹4 lakh for construction.
