Kerala CM showcases ‘extreme poverty eradication’ as crowning point of LDF government

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday (October 31, 2025) showcased the completion of the State’s extreme poverty eradication programme as the “crowning point” of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) government.

In a statement on the eve of the 69th Kerala Formation Day on November 1, Mr. Vijayan portrayed the social project to identify and eradicate extreme poverty as a “people’s movement.”

The government has convened a special session of the Assembly on Saturday to announce Kerala’s “extreme poverty-free” status.

Mr. Vijayan said Kerala, a sliver of land with limited resources, had wiped out extreme poverty. “It’s a proud moment for Malayalis. Kerala is one of the few regions in the world which can legitimately claim to have wiped out acute deprivation. Kerala has etched a historic moment in golden letters in the annals of the State and the world”, he added.

Mr. Vijayan said citizen volunteers, social workers, local body officials, and elected representatives joined hands to identify the marginalised and anonymous others far outside the society’s support systems.

The government ensured widespread community participation to identify critically low-income families suffering from hunger, homelessness, diseases, a lack of livelihoods, chronic illness, and a lack of access to free health care.

Unique model

Mr. Vijayan said Kerala developed “a unique model” to identify extreme poverty through trials and tests to understand the subtleties of multi-dimensional extreme poverty.

The government enlisted voluntary community health workers (ASHAs), anganwadi workers, Kudumbashree members, residential associations and other social groupings to scour the State for destitute families and bring them under the social security net. 

Mr. Vijayan said an estimated 14 lakh citizens were involved in the sweeping Statewide surveys. 

The surveyors identified 64,006 families — an estimated 1,03,099 persons — reeling under the daily deprivations of extreme impoverishment, spread across 1,032 local bodies in the State. 

Mr. Vijayan said the government conducted multiple field-level validations, granular-level verification and community-level testimonials to ensure that ineligible people did not creep into the programme through political patronage or otherwise. 

Subsequently, the government prepared micro-plans for individual families, taking into account their respective needs. Several families lacked basic documents to access public services, including health insurance and free medical care at government hospitals. The government issued Aadhaar, ration, and UDID cards for the differently abled in the extremely poor category category, the Chief Minister said.

Mr. Vijayan said the government did not limit its programme to mere monthly doles. It constructed houses for impoverished citizens and devised micro-plans at the individual and family levels to ensure sustainable livelihoods. It also ensured free provisions and roofs over their head.

“The emancipation of the critically destitute families is a manifestation of the LDF government’s humanist view and the progressive nature of Kerala’s society”, he added.