KOCHI: District Collector K Mohammed Y Safirulla said though Kochi is fast developing, the path of progress is also beset by several challenges. He was delivering the inaugural address at the national conference on ‘Infrastructure Development: Issues and Prospects’ organised by Chinmaya College of Arts, Commerce and Science here on Friday.Safirulla said growth should be inclusive and efforts should be made to ensure all stakeholders are taken on board while undertaking developmental activities. Underscoring this, the District Collector said: “There is a section of people who feel they don’t have any stake in the growth. Then, it’s bound to have resistance when developmental activities are carried out.”
There are around 35,000 homeless people and nearly 10,000 households without toilets in the district which boasts of countless major projects, which are either under way or in the pipeline. “Unlike its neighbouring states, Kerala, with an evenly-distributed population, should adopt alternative development models with less stress on raw materials and natural resources. Kerala is an environmentally-sensitive state. As far as development activities in the state are concerned, it is not the financial constraint, but the absence of raw materials that is posing challenges,” he said. Urging the people to make substantial changes in housing construction model, he said: “The practice of building luxurious houses in which no one lives should give way for affordable housing.”
Though the public transportation has a key role in the city’s development, it has not fully evolved here. He hoped the situation might improve with the seamless integration of various modes of transportation under the proposed Unified Metropolitan Transport Authority. He highlighted the issues related to the solid waste management system.
“Efforts should be taken to create more jobs. Futuristic potential growth segments should be identified and investment should be made in these sectors,” he said. He also called for utilising the expertise of non-resident Keralites. A Gopalakrishnan, chief sevak, Chinmaya Mission Educational and Cultural Trust, presided over the function and Swami Viviktananda, regional head of Kerala State Chinmaya Mission, delivered the benedictory address.