Municipality at a Glance

Name of Municipality : Thodupuzha

District : Idukki

Thaluk : Thodupuzha

11597. (in KM2) : 35.45 km sq

No. of wards : 35

Population : 52,025

Male : 25,563

Female : 26,482

No. of Households : 12,604

Density of population : 1468.95 /sqkm

SC Population : 2146

ST Population : 572

Male Female Ratio : 1036

Literacy Rate : 95.60

No. of BPL families : 2500

No. of Notified slum : 0 

History - General background of the City, Evolution of city

Thodupuzha is a town and a municipality in Idukki district in the Kerala state of India, spread over an area of 35.43 km2. Thodupuzha is 62 km south east of Kochi. Thodupuzha is 200 km from the state capital, Trivandrum. Geographical Classification of Thodupuzha Region is Malanad or Idanad.

Thodupuzha is also the name of the river that flows through the town. It is one of the largest town in the district and is a main commercial center. The town is being modernised with the help of a program sponsored by the World Bank, financing through the Government of Kerala. It was once part of the territory of the princely state, Travancore. It lies in central Kerala, southeast of Muvattupuzha. The Thodupuzha municipality area is characterized by hilly terrain with a lot of green vegetation.

The name 'Thodupuzha' might have come from two words, 'thodu' (which means a rivulet) and 'puzha' (which means a river). It is believed that the stream developed into a river, and the town on the banks of the river came to be known as Thodupuzha.

There is another version which defines the word ‘thodu’ (Malayalam word) as ‘touch’ and ‘puzha’ as ‘river’. Thus the town touching the river became Thodupuzha.

In records of Kerala state Archaeology Department Sarvadhikar iElasamprathi ShriNarayanaMenon of Keezhmalainadu/Vadakkuwas the ruler and father of Thodupuzha. The Kings of Vadakkumkoor used to live at Karikode for several years. At the time of King MarthandaVarma, Vadakkumkoor became part of the state of Travancore. He appointed his representative 'sarvadhikari' Elasamprathi Narayanamenon from Neyyattinkara (Trivandrum) to flourish Thodupuzha. The period of his reign was the golden age of Keezhmalainadu. He erected many splendid monuments, the most famous of which is the government offices, PandikaShala and Temples. The Karikode Mosque and many other buildings in Thodupuzha and Muvattupuzha also date from his reign. He was also the founder of the new style tax collection in this region. He travelled every day from Chalamkode to Karikkodu in a Pallakku (palanquin). The relic of the fort is still there at Karikode.The Annamalai Temple, which carries the traits of Tamil Architecture, is at Karikode. At this temple one can see many statues and lamps made out of stone and metal, believed to have been made in the 14th century.

Thodupuzha is an ancient town with a history dating back to many centuries. The Buddhist and Jain religions which made their first inroads into Kerala in 300 BC have left their impact at Thodupuzha and neighbouring areas. The Buddhist religious relics found at Karikode near Thodupuzha is ample proof of this surmise. In AD 100, Kerala was divided for administrative reasons into several provinces such as Venadu, Otanadu, Navishainadu, Munjunadu, Vempolinadu, and Keezhmalainadu. Thodupuzha and Muvattupuzha were in Keezhmalainadu which had its headquarters at Karikode. Keezhmalainadu was in existence till AD 1600. In that year it lost a battle with Vadakkumkoor and became a part of it. The church at Muthalakodam, a small town, 4 kilometers from Thodupuzha, is believed to have been constructed before the 13th century. The Ninnar Mosque near Karikode is said to have been constructed by SarvadikariElasmprathiNarayanaMenon and instructions given by the Vadakumkoor Raja for his Muslim soldiers.

At the formation of Kerala state in 1956, Thodupuzha was part of the Ernakulam district. In the year 1972, Idukki district was formed by merging Thodupuzhataluk along with Devikulam, Udumbanchola and Peermadetaluks, which were part of the erstwhile Kottayam district.

Housing Profile 

Regarding Housing, there are certain pockets in the urban area where people are living in colonies either with small land holdings or in the land with possession. As per the SECC data there are around 1734 landless households in the municipal area .In Arakkappara area the land is rocky and hard and hence toilets are a major issue in the area .Temporary septic tanks are being constructed in the households and cleaned periodically. Similarly in the slum areas there is need of extra space or even an extra house to accommodate the families living in congested conditions .

Surveys have been undertaken under various schemes of the municipality to find the landless and houseless population. For Eg. EMS survey ,Survey under IHSDP etc

Survey details other than census (includingEMS housing).Efforts have been made to address the issue through various programmes like IHSDP project, EMS housing, Janakeeyasootranam project etc ,but still there is demand for housing in the municipal area.

Details of landless/houseless as per the EMS survey .

Details oflandless/ homeless in ULB

As per the EMS survey held with respect to houseless/landless about 551 urban poor were identified .In the year 2010 interventions were made to provide assistance to landless and homeless .About 246 were provided with land /house through the scheme. As per the PMAY survey about 1800 houseless and landless were identified. They have opted credit linked subsidy scheme as their housing option.Thus the landless in the municipal area have been considered in the credit linked subsidy scheme.

Few households (less than 5 )are residing in purambokku land of PWD .Hence the ULB is not able to provide possession for the land .But ULB will take steps in finding some residential land adjacent to the municipality area .

Details of construction for the last 5 years

( as per building permit register, residential building)

As per the Building permit register the details of residential permits issued in the last 6 years is as follows

Earlier interventions for slum improvement

IHSDP Scheme

The IHSDP scheme has been targeted for the Urban Poor and Under IHSDP there was an attempt to improvise the deteriorated condition of the slum dwellers and make it more livable.Thodupuzha Municipality is implementing IHSDP project. The details of IHSDP scheme in the Thodupuzha Municipality is given.

EMS scheme

The EMS Housing Scheme envisioned with the objective that there should be no homeless family in the state. EMS total Housing scheme launched by Government of Kerala aims at providing house sites to all landless families and houses to all houseless families coming under the BPL category.

HOUSING SCHEMES & NO OF BENEFICIARIES IN EACH SCHEME inTHODUPUZHA MUNICIAPLITY SINCE THE YEAR 2000