No turf and boys toilet, Maharaja’s development projects hit roadblock

KOCHI: While the Maharaja’s College authorities are set to take charge of the new hostel building on Tuesday, several other projects continue to face roadblocks. No decision has yet been made on the construction of the boys’ toilet on the campus. Even the construction of a hockey turf as per the guidelines of the International Hockey Federation (IHF) faces hurdles.

It seems, when it comes to the Maharaja’s College, getting a project approved, executed and commissioned takes a lot of time. Even as some movement seemed to happen in the case of the renovation of the synthetic track at the college ground, cost escalation has led to a revised estimate. And the project cost has jumped from `6.69 crore to `8 crore.

“Now, the files have to make another round of all the offices concerned,” said M S Murali, a member of the college governing council. According to him, the amount needs to get an administrative sanction and then the technical sanction.“So the implementation of the project has got delayed by another year. It is now estimated that anything regarding the synthetic track might happen only towards the end of 2023,” he added.The state government had sanctioned Rs 6.69 crore based on the estimate drawn up in 2018.

“The revised estimate has been submitted to the director of collegiate education (DCE) for approval. The recently convened college development council meeting wasn’t very positive for the college,” he said.
In the case of the hockey ground, the engineers from the sports directorate found that the turf fell short of the 65 metres as per the IHF rules. So, the college was presented with two choices.

“One was to axe the five big trees along the fence of the ground or relocate the Kochi Metro bus station. We opted for the second choice. The grand old trees are very huge and beautiful. It will be sad to see them go. So it was decided to give a bit of the land belonging to the college near the synthetic track to the Metro to construct the bus waiting shed,” he said.

However, this plan too has suffered a jolt.“The Kochi Metro Rail Limited has raised objections. As per them, it would be difficult to remove the existing bus stand since it has been given out on lease to another party. KMRL claims that if the bus stand is removed, it might attract a lawsuit from the lessee,” said Dr Murali.

In the case of the toilets for the boys, the college has to get funds from the DCE and also the district collector. The only good news for the college is the handing over of the hostel building. “The hostel had been built for the boys, but demands rose seeking one for the girls. The college has sent a request regarding this to the DCE. But much needs to be done like building a compound wall to make it safe. We have enough funds left over after construction of the building,” he added.

KOCHI: While the Maharaja’s College authorities are set to take charge of the new hostel building on Tuesday, several other projects continue to face roadblocks. No decision has yet been made on the construction of the boys’ toilet on the campus. Even the construction of a hockey turf as per the guidelines of the International Hockey Federation (IHF) faces hurdles. It seems, when it comes to the Maharaja’s College, getting a project approved, executed and commissioned takes a lot of time. Even as some movement seemed to happen in the case of the renovation of the synthetic track at the college ground, cost escalation has led to a revised estimate. And the project cost has jumped from `6.69 crore to `8 crore. “Now, the files have to make another round of all the offices concerned,” said M S Murali, a member of the college governing council. According to him, the amount needs to get an administrative sanction and then the technical sanction.“So the implementation of the project has got delayed by another year. It is now estimated that anything regarding the synthetic track might happen only towards the end of 2023,” he added.The state government had sanctioned Rs 6.69 crore based on the estimate drawn up in 2018. “The revised estimate has been submitted to the director of collegiate education (DCE) for approval. The recently convened college development council meeting wasn’t very positive for the college,” he said. In the case of the hockey ground, the engineers from the sports directorate found that the turf fell short of the 65 metres as per the IHF rules. So, the college was presented with two choices. “One was to axe the five big trees along the fence of the ground or relocate the Kochi Metro bus station. We opted for the second choice. The grand old trees are very huge and beautiful. It will be sad to see them go. So it was decided to give a bit of the land belonging to the college near the synthetic track to the Metro to construct the bus waiting shed,” he said. However, this plan too has suffered a jolt.“The Kochi Metro Rail Limited has raised objections. As per them, it would be difficult to remove the existing bus stand since it has been given out on lease to another party. KMRL claims that if the bus stand is removed, it might attract a lawsuit from the lessee,” said Dr Murali. In the case of the toilets for the boys, the college has to get funds from the DCE and also the district collector. The only good news for the college is the handing over of the hostel building. “The hostel had been built for the boys, but demands rose seeking one for the girls. The college has sent a request regarding this to the DCE. But much needs to be done like building a compound wall to make it safe. We have enough funds left over after construction of the building,” he added.