Thiruvananthapuram: The state government has plans to disband the state-run PSU Kerala State Housing Board (KSHB) and the chief secretary has already directed the finance department to look into it.
According to the chief secretary VP Joy, KSHB has no endeavours in the housing sector at present and its relevance has further reduced with the coming of LIFE Mission. The move was taken up during the meeting held to discuss arrear dues owed by various PSUs to KSHB.
KSHB, which was formed in 1971, has spearheaded the construction of 12 lakh houses in the state. It has assets worth Rs 8,000 crore and neither has debt nor liability. The state government is neither giving any project to it nor financial assistance. Similarly, government departments are not paying arrears or rent to it.
Meanwhile, the finance department in its response to the chief secretary highlighted that the return to KSHB is almost nil. Even Administrative Reforms Commission recommended winding up KSHB’s operation. The chief secretary has also sought a report as a follow-up measure.
At present, there are only 195 employees in KSHB. Interestingly, most of its employees are not against the govt move. However, the employees’ protest forum is holding Satyagraha for 23 days. They demand to redeploy them in other government departments by considering service-wage mandates. The employees have not yet received their pension since 2016. PF from 2020 is also pending.
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