THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In an attempt to generate additional revenue to meet its burgeoning expenditure, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) is all set to start a fuel outlet in Thiruvananthapuram and an LPG agency in Nilakkal. The board will shortly sign an agreement with the Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) to start a fuel pump in its premises at the TDB headquarters on the Nanthancode- Devaswom Board Junction road.
Board president K Ananthagopan told TNIE that the estimated annual income from the project would be about Rs 96 lakh. The board will provide the land to the IOC on a lease basis. “The IOC will set up the pump on its own. The board will have the right to operate it and take full commission for the sales. The detailed project report is ready and we are drafting the agreement. We also require the High Court’s permission for giving the land on lease,” he said.
The board will have to spend about Rs 20 lakh as initial expenses for the fuel outlet. Based on the success of the pilot project, the organisation has plans to open more outlets in its various premises.
Another project on the anvil is the plan to start an LPG agency at Nilakkal. It will cater to the demands of the board’s institutions and private vendors at Nilakkal, Pampa, and Sabarimala. The feasibility study showed that the project would fetch good revenue to the board, Ananthagopan mentioned Additionally, the board has prepared the DPR for the tin can manufacturing factory at Thelliyoor in Pathanamthitta. The unit will come up on a ten-acre land in the possession of the board.
The aim is to manufacture the cans required for the packaging of aravana at Sabarimala temple. At present the board is spending Rs 6.58 per piece for the cans purchased from private players. The DPR says the production cost will be Rs 5.10 at the new facility. Besides cost cutting, the factory will help the board to ensure hygiene and other safety standards.