KOZHIKODE: Thiruvananthapuram, Kollam, Alappuzha and Kannur districts are ahead and Malappuram is behind in the campaign which is part of Litter Free Kerala Campaign / Malinya Muktha Nava Keralam project. The state average is 90 percent. Kottayam and Kannur are leading the way in making districts free of extreme poverty. The evaluation was held in the Malappuram district valuation meeting chaired by Minister MB Rajesh. The minister said that it was not correct that the presidents or representatives of some panchayats did not participate.

The campaign started in October and will continue till March. The project involves Green Planning of towns, public places, schools, markets, offices, tourist centres etc. Kasaragod was with Malappuram when the campaign started but now they have reached 99 percent.

"Malappuram, where stray dogs are abundant, does not even have an ABC centre for their sterilization. Only a few towns and tourist centres are included in the scheme. After being declared a green town, people's committees have been set up for supervision and fines for littering have been less. Only ten percent of the fine was collected. This will send the wrong message,” said the minister.

"Malappuram has the potential to work best. The people's representatives can find people willing to buy land and build houses for the very poor. There is a person in Kollam who gave away land worth one crore rupees for free. He offered to give more land. This model should be followed elsewhere," the minister said.