'Poverty eradication is a continuous process. There is no full stop to it.'
In 1973-1974, poverty in Kerala was at 59.74%.
In 1973-1974, the rate of poverty in India was 54.88%.
In 2011-2012, poverty in Kerala came down to 11.3%.
In 2011-2012, the national poverty rate came down to 29.5%.
These numbers show Kerala managed to eradicate poverty from the state.
In 2023, the NITI Aayog's National Multidimensional Poverty Index stated that only 0.55% of Kerala's population was multidimensionally poor while the national average was 14.96%.
In 2025, Bihar, the multidimensional poverty rate is 33.76%!
On the 1st of November 2025, the chief minister of Kerala declared that it was the first state in India to have eradicated 'extreme poverty'.
It was the culmination of a project that started in 2021.
The IAS officer in charge of the project -- till her retirement in April 2025 as Kerala's chief secretary -- was Sarada Muraleedharan.
"We looked at extreme poor people as those who have no viable means for survival, when the living conditions of somebody is so deplorable that there is absolutely no quality of life," Sarada Muraleedharan tells Rediff's Shobha Warrier.
"We were looking at such people, who are outside the margins despite the efforts of the state. And why are they outside the margins? They are invisible, voiceless and physically and socially marginalised."
It was in 2021 that the Kerala government initiated the 'Extreme Poverty Eradication Program' (EPEP) and you as the additional chief secretary (of the local self-government department) were in charge of the project. How do you define extreme poverty?
In 2021, according to the NITI Aayog report, the multidimensional poverty Index in Kerala was 0.70%.
At that time, the state government took the decision to eradicate extreme poverty.
Kerala has done very well in eradicating poverty from very high levels, as high as Bihar or Odisha to the least in the country.
Now, what is the distinction between poverty and extreme poverty?
Extreme povertyis the most severe type of poverty, which the United Nations defined as a condition characterised by severe deprivation of the basic human needs, including food, safe drinking water, sanitation facilities, health, shelter, education and information.
It depends not only on income but also on access to services.
In 2011, a Kudumbashree worker told me that poverty once used to be the inability to have two meals a day but today, it was not having a fridge at home.
This comment always stayed in mind as poverty is the perception of what our basic needs are.
Extreme poverty is the inability to lead a full life in the context of the ecosystem. So, Kerala's understanding of poverty is different from the understanding of poverty in say, Jharkhand.
Did you have to look at certain parameters to identify those who were extremely poor?
Yes, we had to first identify who these people are, and then come up with micro plans for them.
We looked at extreme poor people as those who have no viable means for survival, when the living conditions of somebody is so deplorable that there is absolutely no quality of life.
We were looking at such people, who are outside the margins despite the efforts of the state.
And why are they outside the margins? They are invisible, voiceless and physically and socially marginalised.
But then how did you identify such marginalised and invisible people?
I have been working for around 15 to 20 years of my career on programmes to eradicate poverty.
Like I said earlier, extreme poverty is defined as the absence of four essentials -- food, safe housing, basic income, and health.
And if you look at the Multidimensional Poverty Index, it says hunger is the basic feature in both poverty and extreme poverty.
When Kerala launched the State Poverty Eradication Mission (Kudumbashree) in 1998 and the Ashraya programme in 2002 for destitute rehabilitation, we have found that there are people who get missed to be included in these programs.
The challenge was to reduce the margin of error, and reduce the number of people who don't get included. Rather, include every single one of them.
So, from the experience that we already had, we tried to find out what went wrong earlier.
Because of the experience I had in the field, I was able to bring those people who had worked in these areas.
We started with a core team of 12 to 15 people.
The first thing we decided was that we were not going to have a survey or enumeration.
So, we decided to use the social capital the state has created like the ASHA, Anganwadi and Kudumbashree workers who are there in every nook and corner of the state, to list people as they largely work with people who are poor.
Then there were local committees who worked on palliative care during the pandemic.
What better way to identify the most vulnerable: The bedridden, abandoned, and chronically ill than take the help of these workers!
They knew the people who are the most vulnerable.
Who is the most vulnerable? For example, a household where no adult is capable to earning an income.
As groups, we also looked at transgender people, tribals, unskilled migrant workers, etc.
How many extremely poor people were identified?
We started the project in June 2021 and it took us four months to develop the methodology.
A very detailed handbook was prepared on how to prepare the list.
It was KILA (Kerala Institute of Local Administration) that developed, documented the entire process and co-ordinated the training.
We trained around 4 to 5 lakh people to work on the ground.
Totally, 14 lakh people worked on the project.
What we did first was make a list of all the vulnerable people given by the various groups.
For that, we formed local panchayat level committees.
Then, there was a focal group discussion which included NGOs, Kudumbashree workers, hotels, etc. For example, so many hotels provided food to the hungry and the homeless.
These people were made aware of the criteria so that we could identify the most vulnerable.
Once the list was consolidated at the panchayat level, the local enumerators visited those in the list and on the basis of their reports, the list was finalised in all the panchayats.
This was followed by a random super check in all the panchayats by the Economic and Statistics departments.
Once the super check was done, the panchayat approved the list and the Gram Sabha finalised it.
In early 2022, out of a list of 1.4 lakh households, 64,006 households were identified to be in extreme poverty.
Which part of Kerala had the maximum number of extremely poor families?
Wayanad had the maximum number of extremely poor families which is understandable as the people of the district suffered a lot because of various natural calamities. And Kottayam had the least number of extremely poor people.
Interestingly, the numbers were in line with the projection by NITI Ayog multidimensional poverty index.
What was the next step after identifying the 64,006 extremely poor households or families?
Now that we had the list, we needed micro plans.
We digitised the data first.
Then, we identified what every individual family needed so that they could come out of extreme poverty.
As the step, we looked at the entitlements they did not receive like Aadhar card, ration card, bank accounts, health insurance and social security pensions.
Then, we saw to it that they had a proper house with electricity, sanitation, and water supply.
The local administration provided food kits and even cooked meals to some, palliative care to the terminally ill, also provided geriatric services.
How will you see to it that the help is sustained and they will not fall back into where they were earlier?
The only way you can sustain is by monitoring, tracking and supervising them locally.
I am sure the work will continue as the format is already in place. The government has also announced follow-up action plans.
In fact, this programme was monitored at the chief minister's level. So, all the ministers also were involved.
So, there was tracking at the highest level.
This should not be a one-time assistance, this has to continue.
Though you had retired before the announcement, how did you feel when the state declared that it had eradicated extreme poverty?
As a person who has worked in poverty, I will say, the work is never done. There is always work to do.
While we worked for four years, nobody spoke about poverty or the project.
After the government declared that Kerala had eradicated extreme poverty, I see that there is a discussion on poverty.
I am so glad people are talking about poverty.
There is also criticism from many groups like the fishermen community, ASHA workers, etc that extreme poverty eradication is only on paper. Some even called it a lie...
As far as the 64,006 families are concerned, the programme has done its full bit.
Like I said earlier, you will not know when a family will be thrown into extreme poverty. An accident, an illness, a natural disaster... so many factors can cause poverty or extreme poverty.
So, poverty eradication is a continuous process. There is no full stop to it.
Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff