Gods own country now Peoples own country

Kerala- Gods own country with the Arabian Sea in the west, the Western Ghats towering 500-2700m in the east and networked by 44 rivers; Kerala enjoys unique geographical features that have made it one of the most sought after tourist destinations in Asia. An equable climate, a long shoreline with serene beaches, tranquil stretches of emerald backwaters, lush hill stations and exotic wildlife. Waterfalls, sprawling plantations, paddy fields, ayurvedic health holidays, enchanting art forms, magical festivals, historic and cultural monuments. The mythological story about Kerala was a land rose from the sea where the axe- landed thrown in penance for waging the terrible war by Parasuram, the 6th incarnation of Lord Vishnu.

Kerala, India's most advanced society. With almost hundred percent literacy, world-class health care systems, India's lowest infant mortality, and highest life expectancy rates, the highest physical quality of life in India. Peaceful and pristine, Kerala is India's cleanest state.

According to the famous phrase “Roti (Food) Kapda (Clothing) aur Makan (Housing)”, the basic necessities of human being are: Food, Clothing and Shelter of which food and clothing are available cheaply in this modern and advanced society. But the major problem faced by the human society today is lack of land i.e. people don’t have their own land. Approximately there are over 1.5 crore landless families all over India.

The prestigious Zero Landless programme of the Kerala government: United Democratic Front (UDF) was flagged off by Congress president Sonia Gandhi in October 2013. The Zero Landless programme envisages distribution of three cents of land each to 2,43,928 families identified across the State. The decision of UDF government to provide ownership of land is set to be a significant socio-economic influence within Kerala. The entire project is estimated to be completed by 2015. Distributing title deeds to 11,118 more people, Union Minister for Rural Development Jairam Ramesh proclaimed Kannur the first zero landless district in India. 286 scheduled tribe persons also got deeds. He also declared it to be “India’s first big state to be open defecation free.”

“Fifteen years ago, Ernakulam was declared the first district in the country to achieve 100 per cent literacy and today, Kannur acquires a rare distinction of becoming the first zero-landless district. I would suggest that the Kerala government should take the initiative to make use of the Indira Vikas Yojana, and build homes for all the families who get land under the scheme. If the state government moots a proposal to this end, I will give all the necessary support from my ministry for the housing project.” Ramesh said. The minister urged all other states to follow the Kerala example and distribute land among the landless. “Very soon, Kerala will be the first big state in India to be declared open-defecation-free, which is a big achievement.” he said.

It’s interesting to learn that there is a National land reform policy which says that every landless person should get 10 cents of land for building a house. Due to expensive land and lack of availability of land in Kerala the area was reduced to 3 cents which still is an appreciable step by the government. But the question is when we have such a national land reform policy why are the governments of other state not implementing them and why we as citizens not demanding its implementation as it’s our right being a part of the constitution. Currently our leaders are just behaving as good orators and just go on speaking (almost everything false) about the progress and development models being implemented. If any such models are really being implemented then they shouldn’t be just limited to paper but should be applied practically so that the common people can get the maximum benefit out of it.

Strong political will and political decisions need to be taken keeping apart personal benefits in mind by the government just as what the government of Kerala did. Hats off to their effort. Now in true sense one can say that "Gods own country is Peoples own country."