An ambitious draft master plan for the capital released on Monday looks at creating elbow room in the city for future development. Among other things, it recommends the relocation of the Poojappura Central Prison, Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) and the Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology (SCTIMST) to the less congested Chenkottukonam and the division of the capital into four distinct development zones.
Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali handed over the master plan prepared by the Town and Country Planning Department to Deputy Mayor G Happykumar here in the afternoon.
Chenkottukonam and Vizhinjam - where the seaport project is proposed - are to be nurtured as satellite towns, while Thiruvananthapuram is to be made ‘slum-free’ within seven years, among other things. Future city development will focus on four distinct zones - city core, central city, outer city and city periphery.
City core will emphasise government and semi-government establishments and commerce. Central city will largely be a continuation of this set-up, but will, in addition, lay thrust on residential areas, including apartments. The agricultural suburbs which make up the third and fourth categories will be preserved as such, says the master plan.
Land can be ensured for the future development of the Medical College by relocating the SCTIMST and RCC to Chenkottukonam. A court complex which will house the proposed High Court Bench also will be established along the Kazhakkoottam-Chenkottukonam stretch.
By shifting the Poojappura prison to Chenkottukonam, 15 km from the city, the existing prison complex can be conserved as a heritage structure. It can house a museum on the city replete with a light and sound show on ‘Mathilukal’, Vaikom Mohammed Basheer’s novel which is set here, suggests the master plan.
The master plan envisages at-source disposal of waste created in the city, but controversially suggests centralised treatment for non-biodegradable waste and e-waste at Vilappilsala ‘with technology change.’
Like previous master plans, the new one also suggests the protection of the Karamanayar, Killiyar, Ulloor canal, Amayizhanjan canal, Parvathy Puthanar and the Akkulam and the Vellayani lakes to save the city from waterlogging during the monsoon months. The master plan recommends the creation of ‘green zones and green belts’ and water retention regions in low-lying areas to save these water bodies.
Monorail
The detailed project report (DPR) for the monorail project for the capital will be ready next month, PWD Minister V K Ebrahim Kunju said on Monday. DMRC advisor E Sreedharan will present the DPR before the Chief Minister, Ministers and top officials on December 11. Phase I of the 28-km project will cover the stretch from Technocity, Pallippuram to Karamana. The project is designed to go up to Balaramapuram in the south, but it can be extended to Neyyatinkara in the future, the Minister said.