Got house under the Life scheme; after spending 2.5 lakhs, woman receives notice from KSEB to halt house construction.

MALA: The construction of the house that Mala native Thresyamma got under the LIFE project has been halted by a memo issued by KSEB. KSEB issued the stop memo pointing out that a KSEB line that ran through the property where the house was to be erected, Thresyamma, a widow, had been living alone in a small ramshackle house made of stone and wood obtained for free when the Ambazhakad church was demolished 50 years ago.

The stop notice demanding the stopping of construction of the house was issued when more than 70 percent of construction was completed at a cost of 2.5 lakh rupees.

Thresyamma was allotted a house under the Mala Panchayat's LIFE scheme when the house where she lived fell into disrepair. Thresyamma, a sick woman living on four cents of land, lives by doing household chores. The house was allotted last September.
She received one lakh and forty thousand rupees so far under the project. Thressyamma's only daughter is living with her husband in Chalakudy.

According to the response to the RTI request filed by Thresyamma with KSEB on the direction of social activist Joy Mathiripilly, neither Thresyamma nor her family has given permission to draw electricity lines over Thresyamma's house. Thresyamma, who is struggling financially, cannot afford to pay the money to shift the electricity line. She has been living in a small tent with only a bed and barely enough space to cook food for the last few months. The stop memo came at a time when she thought that she would be able to move into her new house after completing the construction as soon as possible.