Minister T Siddique Admits Delay in Congress Housing Project for Mundakkai-Chooralmala Victims

Kozhikkode: Minister T Siddique has acknowledged that construction of houses promised by Congress to Mundakkai-Chooralmala landslide survivors has been delayed, attributing it to pending approval from the District Town Planning Office. He told the media that construction would begin once the permit is received.

The admission comes more than 100 days after Rahul Gandhi and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra laid a foundation stone at the Kunnampatta site on February 26, days before the assembly elections. Not a single house has been built, no construction permit has been applied for, and no beneficiary list has been prepared. The land — which can accommodate a maximum of 25 houses — has been fenced with tin sheets, reportedly to prevent journalists from photographing the idle site. An elephant reportedly broke through the fencing three weeks ago.

Congress had collected funds promising 230 houses in total — 100 each by KPCC and Rahul Gandhi, and 30 by Youth Congress. Only 5.42 acres of land prone to wild elephant activity was actually purchased at Kunnampatta.

The LDF has pointed out that disaster survivors who trusted Congress and declined homes in the township built by the LDF government are now the ones left in the lurch, while beneficiaries who accepted the Kalpetta township homes have already moved in. Then-Opposition Leader V D Satheesan had told media days before the election that construction had begun and invited people to go and see the location.