Kerala has officially been declared an “extreme poverty-free state”, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan announced on Saturday. With this, it became the first state in the country to make such a declaration.

During a special session of the Assembly, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader said that the celebration of the 69th anniversary of the state’s formation marked the birth of a new era for Kerala, The Hindu reported.

However, the Opposition Congress-led United Democratic Front rejected the declaration made by the Left Democratic Front government, describing it as “pure fraud”, The Times of India reported. The UDF also boycotted the special session.

The World Bank defines extreme poverty as living on less than $1.90, or around Rs 170, per person per day. However, India’s Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index also takes into account several factors such as nutrition, housing, sanitation, education and access to basic services.

In 2023, the NITI Aayog’s Multi-Dimensional Poverty Index report stated that only 0.55% of the population in Kerala was multidimensionally poor, The Times of India reported. This was the lowest in the country.

Vijayan’s declaration on Saturday came about four years after the state government launched the Extreme Poverty Alleviation Project in 2021 and identified 64,006 families as “extremely poor”, the Hindustan Times reported.

These families were made the beneficiaries of a project to eliminate extreme poverty in the state.

In the Assembly, the chief minister rejected allegations made by the Opposition that the declaration was a publicity stunt ahead of the upcoming local body elections in the state, The Hindu reported.

The implementation of the Extreme Poverty Alleviation Project was a decision taken in the first Cabinet meeting of the current LDF government in 2021, he added. “We only make promises we can fulfil and we have fulfilled what we promised,” The Hindu quoted Vijayan as saying.

In the first phase of the project, essential documents such as ration and Aadhaar cards were provided to 21,263 persons within those identified as extremely poor, Vijayan said. He added that a regular supply of food was also ensured for 20,648 families.

Among other essentials, houses were provided to 4,677 families, while 2,713 families were given both land and houses, The Hindu reported. The state government also provided livelihood support to 4,394 families.

The chief minister said that the process of eradicating extreme poverty was in continuation of the steps taken earlier by the state government for the universal public distribution system and the eradication of landlessness and homelessness.

“Our state is a laboratory for many welfare activities,” the newspaper quoted the chief minister as saying. “In terms of extreme poverty alleviation too, we can hope that our experiments will become a model that other states in the country can benefit from.”

As proceedings began in the Assembly, Congress leader VD Satheesan said that the declaration made by the chief minister was “pure fraud” and in “contempt” of House rules, The Times of India reported.

“We cannot join in that and are completely boycotting the session,” the newspaper quoted the leader of the Opposition in the Assembly as saying.

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