All Kerala families to own a piece of land by 2015: Minister

The Kerala government's ambitious programme of providing a piece of land to every family by 2015 will be inaugurated by Congress president Sonia Gandhi Sep 8, a state minister said Friday.

Speaking to reporters here, Revenue Minister Adoor Prakash said the 'Zero Landless-2015' programme's first phase would begin here with Sonia Gandhi handing over the first title deeds.

"We have identified that there are 2.33 lakh families in the state who do not have a piece of land. In the first phase, 77,306 families would be given three cents (approx 1,300 sq feet) of land for free in the 14 districts. By 2015, we will ensure that all families in the state own a piece of land," he said.

The district authorities had sought applications from people who did not own a piece of land and after receiving them, a detailed enquiry was conducted to find the veracity of the applicants.

"We will ensure to the best of our ability that everyone who gets land under this scheme is the most deserving. We have seen that all those who get the land will not be able to transfer it for 25 years," said Prakash.

The state government has ensured to see that priority in allotting land would be given to the poorest of the poor, those suffering from critical illness, those with 50 percent or more disability, widows, and those belonging to the scheduled tribes community.

"Once the land is given, then there are various schemes - both central and state government - where financial assistance would be handed out to build a home and also the help of NGOs would be sought," added Prakash.