Kick-starting of work on LIFE Mission housing, an affordable scheme in panchayats around Kochi city, a 30,000-sft exhibition-cum-convention centre at Kadavanthra, sports city at Ambedhkar Stadium, ropeway-cum-entertainment hub, tourist boat jetty complex at Marine Drive in association with DTPC, and resurfacing of the Kaloor-Kadavanthra Road are among the prominent projects announced in the Greater Cochin Development Authority’s budget for the 2020-‘21 fiscal.
The budget foresees expenditure worth ₹122.95 crore and a revenue of ₹146.90 crore. The LIFE Mission scheme suffered a temporary setback when the assets of the construction company, which was about to begin work, were auctioned off. Another firm will begin work from March, GCDA Chairman V. Salim said here on Thursday. “We have proposed a ropeway along the Marine Drive waterfront and a five-storey entertainment hub in the immediate vicinity. A safe tourist boat jetty along Marine Drive too is necessary to weed out illegal and unsafe jetties being set up by private boat operators. A ₹7-crore project will shortly begin to renovate the Marine Drive walkway,” he added.
He listed other schemes too, including a studio-cum-theatre complex in 80-cents at Kakkanad and a studio and film institute on a 30-cent plot at Gandhinagar in association with with the Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC). The GCDA also intends to develop the Kadavanthra market and set up a sewage treatment plant which will have 125 cubic metre capacity nearby and commercial complexes at Olimugal in Kakkanad and near the High Court.
Solar panels
An amount of ₹4 crore has been earmarked for installing solar panels atop the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium to generate 1 MW power under the Smart Cities Mission programme on public-private partnership (PPP) basis. In addition, a study is under way for setting up a green city in the suburbs, for which 12 locales have been identified under the Kochi Economic City Development project. Talks are also on with stakeholders for setting up a Land Bank, for which expression of interest has been invited.
The GCDA will also establish a godown-cum-office complex at Kaloor, a women’s hostel at Kadavanthra, and an eco-tourism spot at Rameshwaram in accordance with CRZ norms.
Adalats
Mr. Salim said the GCDA’s annual income had gone up by ₹3.42 lakh crore through hosting an adalat to settle cases regarding rent with tenants of the authority’s properties. The income will increase further, he added.
On the inordinate delay in developing the Chilavannur Bund Road that will link Thykoodam with Panampilly Nagar, Mr. Salim blamed half-a-dozen families at Thykoodam for not surrendering land to clear a bottleneck, despite the agency offering them alternative land at Panampilly Nagar.