Muvattupuzha is a municipality in the
eastern side of Ernakulam district in the
Indian state of Kerala. The
town is bordered by Kottayam district on
southern side and Idukki district on eastern
side approximately 20 km from the town.
Muvattupuzha lies on the intersection
between M C Road and National Highway 49,
about 42 km from district capital
Ernakulam.It is the second biggest
commercial centre of the district and one of
the biggest in the eastern part of the state.
The town is named after the Muvattupuzha
river which flows through it. The name is made up of three Malayalam words:
Moonnu, which stands for three; aaru, small river; and puzha, which also means
river. Aaru is a word that is usually used for rivers in the southern half of Kerala,
while the term puzha is used in the northern parts. The three rivers in this case are
the Kothamangalam river or Kothayaar, Kaliyar and Thodupuzhayar, which merge
to form a single river called Muvattupuzhayar. This place is called Thriveni
Sangamam in Malayalam which means the point of confluence of three rivers.
In English both spellings viz. Muvattupuzha and Moovattupuzha are
interchangeably used. Etymologically Moovattupuzha, is the correct spelling
however commoners widely use the spelling Muvattupuzha and is better accepted
Muvattupuzha was part of the Vadakkumkoor[1] Kingdom until it was captured by
the Travancore Kingdom. Old documents show that parts of the lands of
Muvattupuzha belonged to Edappally Swaroopam, but were later transferred to
Manas' (Brahmin Families).[2]
According to her Book My Town, My People by Ammini Shivaram, the first
malayali-woman journalist [3] and former editor at The Free Press Journal and The
Indian Express, her grandfather Varkey was the first one to colonize the forest
covered parts of Muvattupuzha. Her Father, Mathai (Mathai Sir) is regarded as the
architect of New Muvattupuzha.
After Indian Independence, from 1949 to 1956, Muvattupuzha was a part of the
Kottayam district in Travancore-Cochin state.[4] In 1956, when Kerala state was
formed, Muvattupuzha remained as a part of Kottayam district until 1958.
Muvattupuzha, as a village union, came under the control of a council of three
members nominated by the Government. V. P. Govindan Nair was the first
president of the village union. By 1953, Muvattupuzha was declared a Panchayat.
Kunnappillil Varkey Vaidyan was the first president of the elected Panchayat
Committee. Muvattupuzha was raised to the status of a Municipality in the year
1958. N. Parameshwaran Nair became the first Municipal Chairman.
Muvattupuzha Municipality Page 7
Muvattupuzha made history as the first Municipality where the Communist Party
came to power in a general election.
N. P. Varghese was the first elected M.L.A. from Muvattupuzha Assembly
Constituency. He defeated Manjunatha Prabhu of Communist party.[5] Later, K. M.
George, founder of Kerala Congress represented Muvattupuzha. The first M.P. of
Muvattupuzha (Lok Sabha constituency) was George Thomas Kottukapally. Of all
the Municipal Chairmen of the town, P. P. Esthose deserves special mention. He
was
simultaneously an MLA and the Municipal Chairman of Muvattupuzha. He got
state-level recognition as the Chairman of Chamber of Chairmen. In its entire
history, he is the only Communist member elected to the Parliament from the
constituency.
St. Thomas, the Apostle of Jesus Christ who introduced Christianity to India, is
believed to have visited this region. The Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Catholic
Church of Arakuzha has a recorded history of over 1000 years, making it one of the
oldest Syrian churches in Kerala. It is known for its paintings and sculptures.
Muvattupuzha was also known as Arakuzha Pakuthi (meaning half of Arakuzha).
As of 2001 India census Muvattupuzha had a population of 29,230. Males
constitute 49% of the population and females 51%. Muvattupuzha has an average
literacy rate of 84%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is
85%, and female literacy is 82%. In Muvattupuzha, 11% of the population is under
6 years of age.
Malayalam and English are the official Languages. Hindi is widely spoken and
understood due to the influx of migrant labors from North India.

Geography
The town and western parts of the region are mainly plains and is culturally similar
to Ernakulam whereas the eastern parts are mainly highlands and differ from the
western parts as most of the region are agricultural areas.[9] Essentially, the regions
of Thodupuzha, Muvattupuzha and Kothamangalam were called sub-high range or
Keezhmalanad of erstwhile Vadakkumkoor Kingdom indicating these as lands with
fertile soils deposited by Thodupuzha and Muvattupuzha rivers over a period of
time due to floodings of the banks. The town is 20m above mean sea level (MSL).

Population 30397
Density of population 2306
Male 15010
Female 15387
SC Population 2940
ST Population 92

Housing Profile
The details of houses provided through Janakeeyasootranam scheme is as shown
below:-
Year No of houses provided
2011-12 Nil
2012-13 Nil
2013-14 17
2014-15 3
2015-16 9
Total 29
Details of Landless /Homeless in ULB
As per Pmay survey held with respect to houseless /landless about 392 urban
poor were identified
Details of construction for the last 5 years ( as per building permit register,
residential building .
YEAR Residential permit issued in last 5 years
2011-012 74
2012-013 95
2013-014 108
2014-015 99
2015-016 82
Total 458
IHSDP is for housing and infrastructure development in urban slums by
combining the centrally sponsored scheme of VAMBAY and NSDP . IHSDP is to be
implemented in all towns and cities Integrated Housing & Slum Development
Programme aims at combining the existing schemes of VAMBAY and NSDP under
Muvattupuzha Municipality Page 15
the new IHSDP Scheme for having an integrated approach in ameliorating the
conditions of the urban slum dwellers who do not possess adequate shelter and
reside in dilapidated conditions. The scheme is applicable to all cities and towns
as per 2001 Census except cities/towns covered under Jawaharlal Nehru National
Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)The scheme seeks to enhance public and
private investments in housing and infrastructural development in urban areas.
Vambay
The VAMBAY was launched in December 2001 to ameliorate the conditions of the
urban slum dwellers living below the poverty line without adequate shelter. The
scheme has the primary objective of facilitating the construction and upgradation
of dwelling units for slum dwellers and providing a healthy and
enabling urban environment through community toilets under Nirmal Bharat
Abhiyan, a component of the scheme. The Central Government provides a
subsidy of 50 per cent, the balance 50 per cent being arranged by the State
Government. There are prescribed ceilings on costs both for dwelling units and
community toilets. During 2003-04, Central subsidy to the extent of Rs. 239
crore has been released. Since inception up to May 2004, Rs. 522 crore have
been released as Government of India subsidy for the construction/upgradation
of 2,46,035 dwelling units and 29,263 toilet seats under the scheme.
Name 0f scheme No of beneficiaries
IHSDP 198
VAMBAY 300