The Kerala government has decided to turn the official declaration of Kerala as 'extreme poverty free' into a starry, festival-like celebration. 

On November 1, when Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan makes the declaration from the Central Stadium, behind the Secretariat, he will have three of South India's biggest stars alongside him: Kamal Haasan, Mammootty and Mohanlal.

"The government has decided to mark this historical feat in a befitting fashion," local self-government (LSG) minister MB Rajesh told reporters on Wednesday. "The CM will make the declaration on November 1. The entire Cabinet will be present. Besides, Mammootty, Mohanlal and Kamal Haasan will be there as special guests. There will be cultural events before and after the declaration. We want to turn this achievement into a mass celebration," the minister said. 

He said Kerala was only the second place in the world, after China, to root out extreme poverty in a systematic and scientific manner. 

The aspiration to end extreme poverty in Kerala was first articulated by the chief minister on May 21, 2021, after the first Cabinet meeting of the Second Pinarayi Ministry. Right then, he announced that the goal would be achieved on November 1, 2025.

The LSG minister said that the target was over 99 per cent complete. "The accomplishment would be 100 per cent in a few days time," Rajesh said.

In 2021 itself, Kudumbashree had done the survey to identify extremely poor families in Kerala. The survey listed 64,006 families as extreme poor. This is barely 0.2 per cent of Kerala's population; Niti Aayog had reckoned in 2021 that Kerala's poor constituted 0.7 per cent of the Kerala's population. 

Families were categorised as 'extreme poor' on the basis of their access to food, health, livelihood and shelter. 

The stress factors that caused 'extreme poverty' in each of these identified families were detected and micro plans were prepared for each of them. "The implementation of these micro plans were led by the local self government department in coordination with other government departments," the LSG minister said.

The General Education Department issued orders that ensured free education for children from these families. Education was not a stress factor but its deprivation intensified the condition and sustained it from one generation to another. Terminal illness was a stress factor and this was addressed by the health department by making available free treatment and other support.

Kudumbashree provided jobs to 4000-plus families through its Ujjevanam scheme. The Transport Department provided free travel. The Civil Supplies Department, through a single order, distributed BPL cards to all extreme poor families that did not possess one. 

The Revenue Department provided homes and land for the dispossessed among the extreme poor. The Revenue Department issued an order including all 'extreme poor' families/individuals who did not have a home in the LIFE Mission beneficiary list. As for those without land, the Department issued another order that empowered district collectors to assign to the extreme poor any unused land under any government department.

On November 1, the CM will distribute title deeds to all the landless in the extreme poor list. The first instalment for the construction of a house under LIFE will also be handed over. The government has already found temporary shelters for the homeless till their houses are completed. "There are some, especially those temporarily living with relatives, who have told that they do not require a rented house till their houses are completed," the minister said.

Though 64,006 families were originally identified, 4729 families have dropped out of the list. Of this, 4421 families (mostly single-person households) cease to exist because of deaths. 261 families who lead a gypsy existence could not be traced. And there were 47 cases of duplication. In total 4729 families have been scratched off from the first list. So on November 1, it is the remaining 59,277 families that will be pulled out of extreme poverty.

Minister Rajesh said that poverty eradication would be a continuous process. "There are chances that some of these families could relapse back into extreme poverty. So they will be constantly monitored," he said.