THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Kerala government on Saturday announced the completion of two lakh houses under 'Life Mission', a housing project of the government, envisaging total housing for all the homeless.

Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan made the announcement at a function here.

"It's a day to rejoice. Today, many homeless families have got a house of their own. A total of 2,14,262 families got their own house. We are proud that we could realise the dreams of many to live in their own house," he said.

Earlier in the day, Chief Minister, along with ministers Kadakampally Surendran and A C Moideen, attended the house-warming function of Chandran, a resident of Enikkara near here.

Vijayan went to Chandran's new house, constructed and handed over under the Life Mission project, with a handful of gifts.

"When we came to power, this was a major demand made to us: That there are many homeless people, families. Many told us they had been allotted some fund for the house but the construction could not be completed as there was no sufficient fund. We started the Life Mission in 2017 after much deliberation," Vijayan said.

In the first phase, the Life Mission focused on completing houses which had been abandoned halfway for want of money.

Apart from government funds, contributions from the public have also gone into the construction of houses.

Life Mission spent Rs 670 crore in the first phase and Rs 5,851 crore in the second phase, an official said.

The Left government's next phase of the project aims to construct apartment complexes for those who do not have land and a home.

A senior official said over 100 sites across the state have been identified to build such apartment complexes using prefab technology.

The houses constructed under Life Mission does not have any kind of markings to show that they were made under any government project.

"The Left party wanted to make sure that no markings should be there in the houses. This will help to avoid the social stigma and help the downtrodden people to live with dignity," a senior official said.