Karimadom row turning political

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The row that has erupted over the beneficiary list in granting flats in Karimadom colony is slowly gaining a political colour. In a colony where the CPM has had its foothold strong for years, the latest developments have seen the SDPI making an entry. It also provides a classic example of the growing estrangement between councillors (especially Congress councillors) and Kudumbashree members in a ward.Interestingly, more than 80 per cent of the women in the colony are Kudumbashree members.The SDPI (Social Democratic Party of India) posters screaming protest against the beneficiary list could be seen pasted on the walls of the colony and outside, even at the exit gate of the Corporation office in Palayam.A colony resident, who prefers not to be quoted, says that more than 318 beneficiaries in the 560-number list belong to a particular community. The rest are mostly from Scheduled Castes. Though the colony has remained notorious for drugs and anti-social elements, it has always upheld communal harmony."The row has shaken the foundation of the brotherhood we enjoyed,’’ the resident says.The CPM leadership is firm and has pledged all support to the 20 families who are now facing the misfortune of having to live in the community hall when their new flats are ready to occupy. A section of colony residents, who have moved the High Court alleging discrepancies in the allotment of houses to the beneficiaries, have stalled their dream of a new house."The final list was approved by the Council years back. In the first phase, 80 houses were allotted. Many of the petitioners who have moved the Court have earned houses for their kin. Why didn’t they raise any issue then? The problems have suddenly cropped up after the elections and when a new Congress councillor came in the ward. This is politically motivated and targeting a Kudumbashree activist in the colony, who had coaxed the residents to part with the old houses and sign up for the flats,’’ says Karamana Hari, Chalai area secretary of the CPM.According to sources, a woman community organiser of the Corporation (who was ADS president for ten years), who was part of an anti-ganja movement in the colony years back, is being targeted by the petitioners.In the second phase, her family was allotted four houses, which is one of the allegation raised by the petitioners. However, Corporation Welfare Standing Committee Chairman Palayam Rajan said that there have been beneficiaries belonging to the same family earlier too. "The project aims to create ‘lovable and livable spaces’. The reason why we chose to give flats for nuclear families instead of throwing a huge family under one roof,’’ says Rajan.The petitioners have approached the Court saying the 13 families who have made their entry into houses allotted in the first phase are also not eligible for them. Whatever the reason, the fact that the Corporation is remaining a mute witness to the anarchy, instead of clearing the air, has only helped make matters worse here.