KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation will give exemption to houses situated near the Kochi Metro Rail stations and corridor from the proposed Metro special development charges.
However, other buildings, including commercial establishments situated within 500 m of the stations, will have to pay the charges, said Deputy Mayor T J Vinodh. He was addressing the councillors at a post budget session.
The Corporation had proposed in its budget presented last week levy of Metro special development charge for buildings situated near Metro stations and corridors as a major step to increase revenue generation. However, in the post budget discussions, majority of the councillors raised concerns over levying the charges on the houses situated near stations. Considering the protests, Vinodh gave exemption to residences of individuals from the special charges.
Meanwhile, he said other buildings will have to pay the charges soon after the Metro is commissioned. “The Corporation is also thinking of levying additional tax on hoardings/advertisement boards erected along the Metro corridor and near stations. A final decision in this regard will be taken after consulting KMRL officials,” he said.
1,000-day deadline
Vinodh said the civic body is planning to implement the projects mooted in the budget within 1,000 days.
The projects will be prioritised on the basis of the time required for completion, like one-year, two-year and three-year. A separate list based on priority will be prepared and the projects that can be completed within one year will be implemented first.
He also said last year’s spillover projects are also included in this year’s budget. “The project implementation will begin by May. The division fund has also been increased from Rs 50 lakh to Rs 60 lakh from this year onwards,” he said.