KAKKANAD: The section of the Town Planning office at the Collectorate that was closed two days ago in a controversial move by Collector M G Rajamanickam was reopened on Saturday following the intervention of district panchayat president Eldhose Kunnappilly.
Kunnappally, who led a protest, told the Collectorate staff to open the fifth floor of the new civil station building.
He said the Collector’s directive to close the office without consulting him is an action outside the realm of his authority.
The town planning office, which was operating from a rented office in Ernakulam, was shifted to the new civil station building to integrate the operations of the Planning Board with various other departments. Due to space constraints, the Planning Department had extended its office from the fourth floor to the fifth floor, and spent over `6 lakh to renovate it. Later, the Collector issued an order to close the office on the fifth floor to make the space available for the National Informatics Centre.