“This is a historic moment when we inaugurate this wonderful project which will give an opportunity to all those families who are homeless to fulfil a life-long dream of owning a piece of land which they can build their home” said Sonia Gandhi while addressing the gathering after launching this historical project. She also congratulated the government of Kerala and Chief Minister Oommen Chandi for ‘taking this courageous step and brought out such a fantastic programme in which the citizens of Kerala who do not own land can finally realise their dreams’.
“Inclusive growth is the back drop of the policies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). We want everyone to march ahead together towards a new India. No one should be left behind or sidelined on account of caste, creed, religion or region and the UPA Government and UDF Government (in Kerala) are carrying forward the vision of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi of making India a modern nation based on social justice and allowed the country to transform itself by providing basic facilities to people everywhere” added the Congress President.
“A citizen owning his own piece of land and house will be a happier citizen and a happier citizen is better equipped to meet the challenges of everyday’s life,” she added. Sonia Gandhi also enlisted some of the flagship policies and schemes of the Congress-led UPA Government and also praised the Congress-led UDF government in Kerala for its pro-poor initiatives. “The Government of Kerala is doing a stellar job in implementing our national vision and is building on it further through imaginative yojanas such as Zero landless scheme. Kerala is already blessed with very high Human Development Indicators and with an educated society. Schemes such as this will lift the homeless out of their difficult conditions and enable them to strive for objectives beyond simple survival” said the UPA Chairperson and continued“ The success of this zero landless programme demonstrates yet again that the government is responsive, compassionate and heeds the aspirations of the people”.
“So on 2015, the state of Kerala will become the first state in India where everyone has a home which, I believe, is the most remarkable achievement” said Sonia Gandhi once again praising the Congress-led state government in the state.
The government have identified around one lakh plots to be distributed among the beneficiaries in the first phase of the project. The landless in six districts- Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Pathanamthitta, Kottayam, Alappuzha and Ernakulam- would be provided three cents of land each in the first phase. 77,319 plots had been earmarked in 14 districts for allotment. Around 2.4 lakh beneficiaries were selected in the first phase of the project. The remaining plots would be earmarked at the earliest. Destitutes, people suffering from serious diseases, people with more than 50 per cent disability, widows and those from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe communities are given special priority.
Full text of Mrs. Sonia Gandhi’s speech while launching the zero landless project in Kerala
I am happy to be preset here to inaugurate Kerala’s unique programme which will make it a zero landless state by the year 2015. This is a historic moment when we inaugurate this wonderful project which will give an opportunity to all those families who are homeless to fulfil a life-long dream of owning a piece of land which they can build their home. Having one own house is something that each one of us has survived to aspire to and I am pleased that the Chief Minister Oommen Chandi and his government have solved this by taking this courageous step and brought out such a fantastic programme in which the citizens of Kerala who do not own land can finally realise their dreams.
Kerala is a state where land is scarce. The growing population and increasing urbanization, both, build up the pressure on the land. This has led to a raise in urban poverty as well as to the growth of the slums in many parts of the country. I believe that in this phase, the programme focuses on giving land to one lakh of landless citizens and I am told that the beneficiaries of this programme will be mostly the weaker section of the society - from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes, as well as those families with widows, destitute and handicapped and members suffering from chronic diseases.
Inclusive growth is the back drop of the policies of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA). We want everyone to march ahead together towards a new India. No one should be left behind or sidelined on account of caste, creed, religion or region and the UPA Government and UDF Government (in Kerala) are carrying forward the vision of Jawaharlal Nehru, Indira Gandhi and Rajiv Gandhi of making India a modern nation based on social justice and allowed the country to transform itself by providing basic facilities to people everywhere.
To ensure this our UPA Government under the leadership of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh, has introduced a wide range of welfare schemes and passed important laws such as the Food Security Bill – which was recently passed, the Land Acquisition rehabilitation and resettlement Bill, the Right to Education Bill from which the children from 6 years to 14 years can access to free education, the right to Information, Tribals rights Act, the Right to works –or- the Mahatma Gandhi NREGA, the Indira Awas Yojana, the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission, the Prime Minister Gram Sadak Yojana, the Mid-Day meal scheme, to name just a few.
The Government of Kerala is doing a stellar job in implementing our national vision and is building on it further through imaginative yojanas such as Zero landless scheme. Kerala is already blessed with very high Human Development Indicators and with an educated society. Schemes such as this will lift the homeless out of their difficult conditions and enable them to strive for objectives beyond simple survival.
A citizen owning his own piece of land and house will be a happier citizen and a happier citizen is better equipped to meet the challenges of everyday’s life. The state of Kerala has immense potential; I assure you that the UPA government will work together with the UDF government to ensure that we deliver on all the promises that we had made to you; the success of this zero landless programme demonstrates yet again that the government is responsive, compassionate and heeds the aspirations of the people.
I congratulate Chief Minister Oommen Chandi, and his government for initiating this important programme and I am confident that by 2015, it will fulfil the goal of making Kerala a zero ladless state making another successful model for other states to implement. So on 2015, the state of Kerala will become the first state in India where everyone has a home which, I believe, is the most remarkable achievement. I also felicitate the one lakh families who are going to receive land and will be eventually able to build their home in this first phase and I hope that this is a new beginning towards improving their lives.
Thank you.
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