Pathanamthitta: There is a huge increase in the building construction in villages in Kerala. A total of 51,539 buildings for industrial-commercial purposes have been constructed in the rural areas in the state recently, while this is only 22,130 in cities.

The major reason for the phenomenon is the corporates targeting consumers in villages. Also, red tapism to obtain permission and other documents for building construction is rather nil in rural areas. The information was disclosed in a survey conducted by the Economic Census department regarding the buildings under construction and completed during 2016-17.

The villages in Malappuram has the highest number of building for commercial purposes. There are 9355 new buildings in the villages whereas only 2920 buildings were built in the urban area. Kozhikode is in the next spot with 5350 buildings in rural areas. Pathanamthitta has only 1301 new buildings in villages and this is the lowest in the list.

Number of commercial buildings in villages and cities

District Village City Thiruvananthapuram 3303 1980 Kollam 2914 749 Pathanamthitta 1301 401 Alappuzha 2803 919 Kottayam 2755 1119 Idukki 1744 235 Ernakulam 4801 3520 Thrissur 3550 2239 Palakkad 4302 1388 Malappuram 9355 2920 Kozhikode 5350 2666 Wayanad 1550 759 Kannur 2827 2434 Kasaragod 1550 305



Former member of the State Planning Board and KSFE chairman Philipose Thomas said that the growth of villages brings positive changes in the economic sector. The expats also perceive buildings as a profitable investment. This will be reflected in the labour sector as well, he added.