Marayur: Even as many families in the state continue to live without proper homes, surviving in makeshift shanties and under tarpaulin sheets, an entire cluster of houses built by the government spending crores of rupees from the state exchequer now lies abandoned and crumbling, with no one to care for them.

Around 130 houses in the Karshanad Periyavayal and Missionvayal areas have been overtaken by weeds and shrubs, turning into safe havens for wild animals and reptiles.

These houses were originally constructed between 2000 and 2005 as part of a rehabilitation scheme for members of the backward communities in Munnar panchayat, many of whom worked as plantation labourers.

The land was purchased, and the houses were built using funds provided by the Scheduled Caste Development Department.

However, serious allegations have emerged that department officials, in collusion with promoters and real estate lobbies, purchased inaccessible land at throwaway prices while siphoning off the rest.

As a result, most of the houses remained incomplete, forcing the intended beneficiaries to abandon them. Plantation labourers, still residing in line houses or layams, also fear that relocating to these houses would worsen their employment prospects.