With the state government denying the option of including the flyover projects at Vyttila, Palarivattam and Edappally in the list of projects to be carried out by utilising the additional fund for JNNURM phase-I, the Kochi Corporation is planning to take up alternative proposals.
As the Union Ministry is allotting the projects under the JNNURM extension on a first come first served basis, the civic body will ask various departments concerned to prepare the detailed project reports (DPR) on a war footing. After presenting them before the Corporation Council for approval, they will be placed before the state government. After the state approves of them, they will be presented before the Centre.
Among the key proposals, top priority will be given to the project for revitalisation of arterial canals in the city.
“A majority of the boundary walls of the arterial canals is in a dilapidated state. In a coastal city like Kochi, where the canals constantly meet with tidal effects, it is important to protect them. The project mainly aims to protect the canals by reconstructing the boundary walls. The embankment of the backwaters is also a part of the project,” said Kochi corporation Town Planning Committee chairman K J Sohan.
The other projects include the construction of a new Rail Overbridge at Vathuruthy. In a meeting held recently between Works Minister V K Ibrahim Kunju and Union Minister K V Thomas, it was decided that the work of the Vathuruthy RoB would be entrusted with Kerala Roads and Bridges Development Corporation. Land acquisition is not required for the RoB and the civic body has already submitted the proposal to the Navy for clearance.
Another proposal is to replace the old pipelines, a major cause for water supply disruption. The Corporation will also prepare a DPR for including the development of Fort Kochi and Mattanchery in the Urban Renewal scheme.
Septage treatment is another issue faced by the city as 95 per cent of the households in Kochi have septic tank on their premises. Only 5 per cent comes under sewerage system and the Corporation will include the proposal for setting up a septage treatment plant on the four acres of land handed over by the Cochin Port.
However, the estimate of the projects will be finalised only after the preparation of the DPR, the official said.