Imbichi Bawa Housing Renovation Scheme

What is the Imbichi Bawa Housing Renovation Scheme?

Imbichi Bawa Housing Renovation Scheme is a housing repair scheme of the Minority Welfare Department, Government of Kerala, that pays a non-refundable grant of Rs 50,000 to a widowed, divorced or abandoned woman from a notified minority community so that she can repair her house. The scheme is often written locally as Imbichi Bava housing scheme, after the late minister Imbichi Bawa, and is implemented on the ground by the District Collectorates under the Directorate of Minority Affairs.

According to the Minority Welfare Department's scheme note, the purpose is to improve the basic facilities of houses belonging to women in these circumstances. The money is meant specifically for houses that lack proper windows, doors, roofing, flooring, finishing, plumbing, sanitation or electrification; not for building a new house and not for cosmetic improvements.

The essentials in one place

• Grant: Rs 50,000, non-refundable, paid once.
• Beneficiary: a widow, divorced woman or abandoned woman of the Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Parsi or Jain community.
• House: up to 1,200 square feet, owned by the applicant or her spouse.
• Route: offline, through the District Collectorate.

Who is eligible for the Imbichi Bawa Housing Renovation Scheme?

You can apply if all of these are true:

• You belong to one of the six notified minority religious communities: Muslim, Christian, Buddhist, Sikh, Parsi or Jain.
• You are a widow, a divorced woman or an abandoned woman.
• The house is owned by you or your spouse and its area does not exceed 1,200 square feet.
• You are the sole breadwinner of your family.
• The house lacks basic facilities such as proper windows, doors, roofing, flooring, finishing, plumbing, sanitation or electrification.

You are not eligible if:

• You have children with a permanent income from a government or semi-government institution.
• You have received financial assistance for house construction or renovation from the government or a similar agency within the last 10 years.
• Your house is larger than 1,200 square feet, or stands in the name of someone other than you or your spouse.
• You are not the sole breadwinner of the family.
• You do not belong to one of the six notified minority communities, or you are a man. The scheme is confined to women in the stated circumstances.

Preference among eligible applicants goes to Below Poverty Line families, to applicants whose children face physical or mental challenges, to applicants who have only daughters, and to applicants who have no children. Documents proving serious illness, cancer, kidney disease, heart disease, liver cirrhosis or paralysis: also support a preference claim.

What documents are required for the Imbichi Bawa scheme?

The two certificates from the local self-government institution are the ones applicants most often miss. Start with the Panchayat, Municipality or Corporation office as soon as the notification is out, because the authorised officer has to physically see the house before certifying that it needs repair.

How to apply for the Imbichi Bawa Housing Renovation Scheme

1. Open minoritywelfare.kerala.gov.in and look in the "News & Updates" section for the notification, which is titled in the form "Application invited for Imbichi Bawa Housing Renovation scheme" with the financial year.
2. Download and print the application form linked in that notification.
3. Fill in every mandatory field, paste a passport-size photograph, sign across it where required, and sign the declaration.
4. Attach self-attested copies of all mandatory documents, including the two certificates from your local self-government institution and the land tax receipt for the current financial year.
5. Submit the completed application to the Minority Welfare Section of your District Collectorate, either in person or by post addressed to the Deputy Collector (General), District Minority Welfare Section, District Collectorate.
6. Submit before the last date printed in the notification. For 2025-26 the last date at the District Collectorates was 31 July 2025.

There is no online application. Any site offering to file an Imbichi Bawa application online for a fee is not run by the Kerala government.

How is the Imbichi Bawa grant paid and used?

The Rs 50,000 is a non-refundable grant, so nothing is repaid. It is meant to be spent on the repairs identified in the local self-government institution's certificate: putting in proper doors and windows, fixing the roof, laying or finishing the floor, completing plumbing and sanitation, and getting the house electrified. Because the department funds a fixed set of amenities, applicants should describe the actual defects in the house in the application rather than generic renovation.

The Minority Welfare Department has publicised the scheme as covering over a thousand women a year, but the number sanctioned in any district depends on the budget provision for that year and on how the applications score against the preference criteria. Applicants who are not selected in one year have to apply afresh when the next notification is issued; applications do not carry forward.

How to check your Imbichi Bawa application status

1. Note the acknowledgement or receipt number given by the Collectorate, or keep the postal receipt if you sent the file by post.
2. Contact the Minority Welfare Section of your District Collectorate, quoting your name, ward and the acknowledgement number.
3. Watch the News & Updates section of minoritywelfare.kerala.gov.in, where the department publishes notifications and lists relating to the scheme.
4. Check your bank passbook for the credit after the district office informs you that the sanction is issued.

Why Imbichi Bawa applications get rejected

• House larger than 1,200 square feet, or not in the name of the applicant or her spouse.
• Missing LSGI certificate on the condition and area of the house — the single most common gap.
• No certificate confirming that no housing assistance was received in the last 10 years.
• Applicant not the sole breadwinner, or a child holding a permanent government or semi-government job.
• Land tax receipt of an earlier year instead of the current financial year.
• Name mismatch between the ration card and the application, without the name-consistency certificate.
• Application received after the last date printed in the notification.

Each of these is fixable. Obtain the missing certificate, keep the file ready, and submit early against the next year's notification rather than on the closing day.

Where do I get help with the Imbichi Bawa scheme?

• Minority Welfare Section, District Collectorate. The office that receives applications and answers status queries in your district.
• Deputy Collector (General), District Minority Welfare Section, the postal address for applications.
• Directorate of Minority Welfare, minoritywelfare.kerala.gov.in. The department portal carrying the yearly notification, the guidelines PDF and the application form.
• Your Grama Panchayat, Municipality or Corporation office, for the two certificates the application depends on.

Applying is free. No fee is charged for the form, and no agent can promise you a place in the sanctioned list.