Kudumbashree workers at a construction site. Workers from all 14 blocks in the district will be brought together to form the consortium. more-in The District Kudumbashree Mission is all set to form a consortium of its construction workers for helping them tap into the larger construction market by undertaking work on contract basis. Though the construction wing of the District Kudumbashree Mission was formed in 2016, it turned active early this year after local bodies started assigning them construction of houses under the LIFE (Livelihood Inclusion and Financial Empowerment) Mission, the State government’s comprehensive housing scheme for the landless and homeless. The government had chosen Kudumbashree Mission as one of the implementation agencies of the project. “Since then, 14 teams of 30 Kudumbashree members each have been assigned the construction of one house each in all 14 block panchayats in the district under the LIFE Mission as part of their training. One house in Manjapra panchayat in Angamaly block panchayat was delivered earlier this week, while the construction of the remaining 13 houses, which are in various stages of completion, will be wrapped up and delivered by the middle of next month,” said V.M. Manjeesh, District Project Manager, Kudumbashree Mission. Houses with a built-up space of nearly 400 sq ft are being built within a 53-day timetable set as part of the training. Kudumbashree Mission pays a daily stipend of ?200 each to the 30 members of all 14 teams and training fee to the agency concerned, which means that LIFE Mission beneficiaries for whom the houses are being built also benefit from the arrangement since they are completely spared of the labour cost. Once all the 14 houses are completed, the 30-member teams from the 14 blocks will be brought together to form a consortium, and three teams of 10 members each will be deployed in each block. “They will be able to undertake mini-contracts for more houses under the LIFE Mission in consultation with the local bodies concerned. They could even explore the potential of bulk purchase of materials at concessional rates, which will eventually benefit the beneficiaries in terms of material cost as well,” said Mr. Manjeesh. The mission is confident of garnering more work, thus creating jobs as the LIFE Mission is an ongoing project. Besides, the consortium can explore the potential of securing work within the municipal limits as well. A 25-member team is engaged in the construction of a house under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana in Koothattukulam municipality.

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