KOCHI: Four-time councillor and state vice-president of the Mahila Congress, V K Minimol has taken charge as the 20th mayor of Kochi. A leader with experience in administrative roles, Minimol speaks to TNIE about her vision and plans for Kochi’s development.
What are your priority projects for Kochi?
Though we have brought in initiatives and projects to address several issues in the city, many remain unresolved. The drainage master plan, waterlogging mitigation, mosquito eradication, waste management initiatives, ABC project for stray dog management, city mobility plan to resolve traffic congestion, and other key initiatives will be given priority. Development won’t be complete without welfare projects. We will also focus on Life Mission projects and initiatives. We will put forward comprehensive and scientific plans that will accelerate the growth of our city, the economic capital of Kerala, while addressing challenges such as climate change.
The previous council launched several initiatives, but many are still in the planning stage. What are your plans for the existing projects?
I will check the files and see what needs to be done to expedite the work. I have already met the heads of different departments and reviewed the status of major ongoing projects. We have decided to go ahead with the projects launched in the previous council. Also, we will take the initiative to complete the projects. Our priority is to start the work at the earliest. We don’t have any plan to cancel already announced projects.
With the LDF ruling the state and the BJP in power at the Centre, and with senior bureaucrats in the corporation being appointed by the government, how are you going to get things done?
I am a UDF mayor. That does not mean we will stay away from state and central government projects. The council is elected by the voters in the city and is obliged to bring in development.Our policy is to work alongside whoever is in power at the Centre and the state government. That’s the policy of UDF. We will follow that. We need the support of the state government and the ministry. We need the support of ministers, officials, and the chief minister. We cannot continue with the governance by confronting the top authorities. So, we will work alongside and coordinate with them.
There were talks about UDF bringing out a white paper on the state of finances...
We have called for a finance committee meeting. We can go ahead with the plan only after getting a clearer picture of the situation here. We will make a decision after the meeting.
The choice of the mayoral candidate had set off debates, taking some sheen off the UDF win. Your thoughts...
There was no internal dispute. These are created by the media. The Thiruvananthapuram mayor was finalised only on Thursday. We did not have such prolonged issues in our party. The Congress party took only two days after the oath-taking ceremony on December 21 to finalise the mayor and the deputy mayor candidates.
No party can announce the mayor and deputy mayor immediately after the election. Congress doesn’t have such a history either. There were no conflicts or disputes within the party about the mayoral candidates. Deepthi has pointed out some issues in the procedure followed. The party leadership will decide on it. We cannot make decisions on such matters.