The chief minister said Kerala is on track to become the first state to eliminate extreme poverty, with the goal set for 1 November 2025.
Published Apr 18, 2025 | 1:00 PM ⚊ Updated Apr 18, 2025 | 1:00 PM
Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and other ministers during a meeting with the Chief Secretary.
Synopsis: Dharmadam — the Assembly constituency of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan — has officially declared itself free from extreme poverty. The state aims to proclaim it free from extreme poverty on 1 November.
In a significant step towards Kerala’s ambitious goal of becoming India’s first state to eradicate extreme poverty, Dharmadam — the Assembly constituency of Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan — has officially declared itself free from extreme poverty.
This landmark announcement, made on 13 April, comes as a curtain-raiser to the state’s targeted milestone of 1 November 2025 — Kerala Piravi Day — when the government aims to proclaim the entire state free from extreme poverty.
Dharmadam’s transformation marks a symbolic yet substantial victory in Kerala’s fight to dismantle the vicious cycle of “poverty reproducing poverty”.
It’s said that poverty means not having enough money or resources to meet basic needs like food, clean water, shelter, and clothing. It’s a condition that affects both individuals and society as a whole.
The first step to ending poverty is to identify and eliminate extreme poverty — a severe form of poverty where people face multiple hardships at the same time, such as poor health, lack of education and low living standards.
As part of its commitment to the UN’s 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Kerala has launched a comprehensive mission to eradicate extreme poverty, aligning with Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 1 — ending poverty in all its forms, everywhere.
While Kerala boasts the lowest poverty levels in India — with a 2023 NITI Aayog Multi-dimensional Poverty Index (MPI) score of just 0.002 — the state continues to grapple with isolated pockets of deprivation.
Marginalised communities, including Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities, fisherfolk, potters and artisans, remain disproportionately affected.
In a determined push to break the cycle of “poverty reproducing poverty,” the government has conducted a state-wide baseline survey through Local Self Governments (LSGs) to identify families facing extreme poverty. Building on this data, Kerala has rolled out a large-scale, targeted poverty eradication programme.
The initiative promises free essential services and a coordinated effort by development departments and LSGs to address the root causes of poverty.
In a pioneering move to eradicate extreme poverty, the state government has identified 64,006 families (1,03,099 individuals) living in severe deprivation through a state-wide survey.
District-wise break-up of the number of extreme poor families identified in the State.
The survey, led by the Commissionerate of Rural Development, focused on four core indicators: Lack of food, income, shelter and health.
This initiative excludes households already covered under the Ashraya and Agathi Rahitha Keralam programmes, which benefit over 1.5 lakh families.
The Extreme Poverty Identification Process (EPIP) began with 1.18 lakh nominations from local wards and divisions, followed by rigorous filtering through LSG sub-committees and face-to-face interviews.
A final list was prepared after multiple validation stages, including Grama Sabha scrutiny and a 20 percent super check.
Of the identified families, 75 percent belong to the general category, 20 percent to SC, and five percent to ST.
Different stages of identifying extreme poverty
A striking 81 percent of the extremely poor reside in rural areas, mostly in Grama Panchayats.
Malappuram tops the district list with 8,553 families (13.4%), followed by Thiruvananthapuram (11.4%). Kottayam recorded the lowest number.
Data shows that 40,917 families have health-related issues, 34,523 face food deprivation, and 15,091 lack proper shelter.
The very aim is to create tailored micro-level action plans for each household. And these plans integrate immediate care, short-term aid, and long-term developmental strategies — making Kerala’s approach one of the most comprehensive poverty interventions in the country.
It was on 13 April that Chief Minister Vijayan declared Dharmadam as the first constituency in the state to be free of extreme poverty.
The announcement was made at the Pinarayi Convention Centre, marking a milestone in the state’s ongoing mission to eliminate extreme poverty through targeted, grassroots interventions.
The project, launched in August 2021, aimed to identify families living in extreme poverty and provide them with comprehensive support. All eight grama panchayats in Dharmadam were involved in the initiative.
The mission, it’s said, was executed through the Right to Swift Assistance initiative and micro plans tailored to individual family needs. The micro plans included short-term, immediate, and long-term projects. A total of 196 families benefited from the initiative.
Essential documents such as ration cards, Aadhaar cards, voter IDs, disability cards, job cards, and bank accounts were provided.
Social security pensions and health insurance were extended to eligible families. Food assistance reached 79 individuals from 19 families through Kudumbashree and local panchayats.
All 139 families requiring health services were covered through government health centres and palliative care. Livelihood support was provided to 20 families under various government schemes, including Kudumbashree’s Ujjivanam. Housing was a major focus: 27 people received houses, while six were given both land and housing under the LIFE Mission.
Additionally, 40 individuals were granted funds for home renovations. Toilets were provided to three families, and one household received a drinking water connection.
Vijayan, who represents Dharamadam at the Kerala Legislative Assembly, hailed the feat as a model for the entire state and emphasised the success of a coordinated, compassionate approach to governance.
“This is more than poverty eradication. It’s about restoring dignity and ensuring a better future,” he said.
Dharmadam’s success is now seen as a replicable model for other constituencies.
Vijayan on 16 April said that Kerala is on track to become the first Indian state to eliminate extreme poverty, with the goal set for 1 November 2025.
At a press conference, the chief minister highlighted that 50,401 families of the 64,006 families (78.74%) identified as extremely poor have already been uplifted through a multi-pronged intervention.
The first phase of the project, completed in November 2023, addressed food and healthcare needs, benefiting over 30,000 families. In the second phase, efforts have been focused on providing stable income and housing.
As many as 4,359 families have been supported under the Kudumbashree-led Ujjivanam livelihood project, while 3,143 families received new houses. Renovation work was completed on 4,049 houses, and 606 families moved into rented homes.
To address landlessness, the ‘Manasodithiri Mannu‘ (A piece of land with the heart) campaign has identified 14.39 acres of land, including 5.5 acres of revenue land, for distribution.
“Dharmadam becoming the first extreme poverty-free constituency is a proud moment. We are working with the aim of making Kerala a model state where no one suffers from extreme poverty,” said Vijayan during the press conference. He described the mission as a milestone in the journey towards a poverty-free Navakeralam (New Kerala).
At the same time, a study by the Centre for Socio-Economic and Environmental Studies (CSES), an NGO, in March 2024 has called for a major rethink in Kerala’s approach to eradicating extreme poverty.
The study highlighted that poverty and vulnerability are dynamic and often interlinked, with many households pushed into extreme poverty due to sudden shocks such as the death or disability of a sole earning member.
Nearly one-third of the extreme poor fell into poverty due to such life-altering events, the study found, underscoring the need for timely intervention.
Current programmes like the Extreme Poverty Eradication Project (EPEP) and Destitute-Free Kerala (DFK) focus only on those already identified as extreme poor.
The study recommends a proactive approach: early identification of at-risk households at the ward level and the immediate inclusion of affected families into the list of the extreme poor, bypassing the routine revision cycles.
It also suggests setting up distress relief funds at the local body level, with state and community support, to provide urgent financial aid to households hit by such shocks.
This, the study notes, is crucial to prevent vulnerable families from slipping into extreme poverty due to a single crisis.
(Edited by Muhammed Fazil.)
