THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Constituted by the state government in December 2023, the Urban Policy Commission (UPC) has submitted its final report to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wherein it has recommended a slew of measures, including setting up of city-specific hubs to exploit local potential and preparation of a road map for urbanisation by addressing all concerns.
The report calls for developing Thrissur-Kochi as the financial technology (fintech) hub of the state.
It also proposes growing Palakkad and Kasaragod as industrial smart cities and the Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam knowledge corridor, to foster research and innovation. Kannur must be promoted as a fashion city, while Kannur-Kasaragod and Thrissur-Ernakulam should be leveraged as education-health hubs, the report said, calling for branding Kozhikode as the ‘City of Literature,’ drawing on its rich literary heritage.
Another key recommendation is the setting up of six directly elected Metropolitan Planning Committees (MPCs) linked to the municipal corporations of Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Kollam, Thrissur, and Kannur.
According to the report, the MPCs will be responsible for steering the process of urban development in and around the respective areas. Planning areas of the MPCs should be delineated on the basis of population size and density, connectivity, ubiquity, land use, and other relevant criteria, it says.
The report also proposed the launch of the ‘Jnanashree’ programme, which would provide sustained technical support to institutions, covering technology, planning, management, finance, legal and other aspects at all levels of administration.
Panel calls for introducing targeted green fee on urban devpt projects
It calls for introducing a targeted green fee on urban development projects to fund disaster risk reduction initiatives, including resilient infrastructure and emergency response systems. Another key proposal is elevation of the steering committee to the position of city cabinets, headed by mayors. Initially, this will be implemented in the municipal corporations and a chief executive, jointly selected by the state government and urban local governments, shall be appointed to municipal corporations. The chief executive will perform the role of the secretary. The city police commissioner will also be part of the city cabinet as an ex-officio member, the report says.
It also highlighted the need for formation of specialised cells for solid waste management, climate and disaster management apart from setting up city-level urban observatories. Another proposal is to transform state universities into globally competitive research and innovation centres and to strengthen the university-industry-government triple helix model.
The state should move towards Industrial Revolution 4.0 by strengthening MSMEs, leveraging high technology and collaboration between educational institutions and private investors, and reducing the licensing-approval window to 7-15 days, it added.
Local Self-Government Minister M B Rajesh said the commission has drafted the framework of a comprehensive policy that will address the challenges and opportunities of urbanisation. “The policy will power the development of the state over the next 25 years. The government will now examine the draft before giving its final approval,” the minister said..