Witnessing greater cooperation between the private players

Besides the Kerala State Housing Board (KSHB) and the autonomous housing development agencies, the Cooperative Housing Society, an apex organization in cooperative sector housing, has to some extent rendered cash/credit facilities through primary cooperative societies by borrowing through the State Bank of India (SBI), the State government, the Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), and the State Cooperative Banks. 
 
The State Cooperative Bank is empowered to give a loan up to the tune of Rs. 1 lakh to the persons having a monthly income of Rs.2,500.  In comparison with the public sector housing the housing stock thus provided is very insignificant.  Very recently the LIC has decided to set up a housing finance company in Kerala and has proposed to provide loans to individual policyholders for construction of houses.  Since the State government has allotted 10 acre of land to LIC one district and was approached to provide 10 acres of land at another backward area for the construction of houses, the housing finance company would mainly cater to the housing needs in the two areas.
 
Although KSHB and to some extent the private sector have tried to redress the housing demand at the capital city, no public agency has so far earmarked any scheme at Cochin to build houses except the hundred houses built by the erstwhile Improvement Trust.  The Housing Accommodation Scheme, which was incidentally the first such scheme in Cochin with a financial outlay of Rs.332.65 lakh in 1973, was later revised to 233.17 lakh in 1978.  Due to the reluctance of Housing and Urban Development Corporation (HUDCO) to finance beyond 52.62 lakh, in 1979, the scheme was treated as self-financing scheme.
 
In modern times the proliferation of Apartments in Cochin is mainly due to the prominent role played by the private players.  With the government agencies not rising up to the expectations of the common people, the private institutions have made their presence felt in this hot destinations.