A new scheme will be rolled out to construct houses for members of the Scheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) communities. In addition, complaints regarding the implementation of the Life Mission housing scheme will be addressed, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said here on Sunday (August 9, 2026).

Stating that directions had been issued to the Finance department to ensure that students from SC/ST communities receive their e-grants, he assured all help to people who did not own land or a house. Mr. Satheesan was speaking at the State-level inauguration of the observance of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples, organised here by the Department of SC/ST Welfare.

“Care will be taken to ensure that funds earmarked for SC/ST communities reach them. Globally, there are 48 crore indigenous people, who have their own unique lifestyles and art forms. There is increasing demand to conserve these aspects, especially traditional medicine and biodiversity,” he said.

He also inaugurated a service portal aimed at ensuring speed and transparency in services rendered by the department. Minister for Welfare of SC/STs and Backward People K.A. Thulasi was among those who spoke.

Pandit Karuppan anniversary

At another function held in the city to commemorate the 142nd birth anniversary of Pandit Karuppan and the centenary of his becoming a Member of the Legislative Council in the Cochin State, Mr. Satheesan said in his inaugural address that fishers displaced by development projects such as ports would be rehabilitated. Workers in the inland fisheries sector would also be given their due recognition, he added.

Pandit Karuppan identified education as key to the socio-economic upliftment of people from backward communities. Apart from being a poet, he was also a scholar and social reformer.

Fisheries Minister V.M. Abdul Gafoor assured that necessary action would be taken on the basis of a list of 50 demands submitted by the Akhila Kerala Dheevara Sabha to the government. At the function, Kodikunnil Suresh, MP, was honoured for being elected to the Lok Sabha multiple times. Dheevara Sabha general secretary and former MLA V. Dinakaran was among those present.

Referring to search operations by State agencies, the Coast Guard and the Navy to trace two fishers missing from Thiruvananthapuram and Kollam over the past week, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said there was unprecedented cooperation between the State and the Centre in the search. The Navy’s scuba-diving team has been searching not only off the Kerala coast but also off Kolachel in Tamil Nadu, he added.