THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With only three months remaining for the winding up of Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (SCTL), the city corporation has initiated taking over of the completed assets from SCTL. Recently, as many as seven completed assets under SCTL — Sree Chitra Park, Pop up tents, open air auditoriums at Putharikandam and corporation, drinking water kiosks, Charithra Veedhi, Manaveeyam Veedhi — were taken over by the civic body.
A senior official of the city corporation told TNIE that the assets are being taken over based on the report submitted by the civic body’s expert committee.
“The SCTL is preparing the inventory of the projects. Our team will be inspecting it, and then submit a report on the present status of the asset. Following this, we will decide about the take over. We will be carrying out the upkeep and cleaning activities. Currently, the defect liability agreement with the contractors are still in place and the smart city will continue to manage all those activities,” said the official.
Earlier, the SCTL initiated efforts to transfer the project assets to the city corporation in June. However, the civic body refused to do so without rectifying issues as many of the completed projects were in a neglected state, owing to poor operation and maintenance. Manaveeyam Veedhi, one of the key projects under the Smart City, is also in a sorry state as the toilet block remains ill-maintained and inaccessible to the public. “We have started cleaning activities at Manaveeyam Veedhi and the issues will be resolved soon,” the official added.
Launched in 2016 with a project outlay of Rs 1,538 crore, the Smart City initiative aimed to improve basic infrastructures in the city and explore IT-based solutions to enhance the city. As many as 43 projects were taken up by the SCTL. After multiple deadline extensions since 2021, the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs extended the deadline further to March 2025.
Meanwhile, the corporation has decided to rope in the Kudumbashree Mission for the upkeep of Captain Lakshmi Park. “We have asked them to submit a proposal for the same and we will engage them at the park on a trial basis. If found to be effective, Kudumbashree will be considered for other projects too,” the official said.
Moreover, efforts are on to form a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the corporation for the future upkeep and maintenance of these projects under the Smart City Mission. “We have placed the proposal before the council. After it is approved, we will submit it to the government. Only after government approval, we’ll be able to go ahead,” said the official.
An official source said the SCTL will be moving to a new office at Thampanoor Bus Terminal complex soon. The SCTL will be implementing the CITIIS 2.0(City Investments To Innovate, Integrate and Sustain). Thiruvananthapuram is the only city in Kerala chosen by the Ministry for the CITIIS 2.0 programme that aims at promoting climate-oriented reform and integrated waste management with a major thrust on circular economy.