KOCHI: The Kochi Corporation Council meeting held on Thursday has decided to request the state government to set up a Metropolitan Planning Committee (MPC) for the comprehensive development of the city.
The corporation, however, emphasised that the MPC should not eat into the powers and rights of local bodies. A resolution, presented by UDF councillor Antony Painuthara and supported by UDF parliamentary party secretary M G Aristotle, received across-the-board support of all council members.
Mayor M Anilkumar said that since the enactment of the Municipality Act, the direction of development has changed.
“More areas of the district have been developed. The formation of MPC, which will handle development planning in all these areas, will be further beneficial,” he said.
MPC should be formed without further delay, keeping in mind the development of Kochi, the resolution said.
The council also decided to ask the government to review the drinking water project contract with Asian Development Bank (ADB). The mayor said the contract specifies that the project can be commenced without the corporation’s approval. He was responding to a resolution moved by C A Shakir at the council meeting.
“The ADB project should be implemented only after discussions with the corporation council, whereby details of the project are presented to the civic body and its opinion is sought. No one is opposed to taking a loan from ADB, but the concerns of Kerala Water Authority workers and union members must be addressed,” said the mayor.
He added that Kochi needs a new water purification plant. Under this proposal, the responsibility for drinking water in the city for the next ten years would be handed over to Suez, one of the largest monopolies in the global water sector.
