Draft master plan to be tabled before Kochi Corporation Council

KOCHI, Kerala: A draft master plan for the city of Kochi outlining the future development and classification of Kochi in different zones will be tabled before the Kochi Corporation council on Friday, October 28.

As per the draft, most of the area of the city will fall into mixed zones, and there will be 18 zones in total. As per the officials, only zone conforming activities could take place in these zones.

The urban planners have proposed to widen the roads by at least three metres keeping in mind the infrastructure needs, use pattern and probable surge in the number of vehicles. Several other projects proposed by various departments, including the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) and Kerala Water Authority (KWA), have also been added to the draft plan.

The formation of a master plan is necessary to obtain finance and technical assistance, for which a total of 92.5 lakh has been sanctioned under the Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT).

The concerned local bodies, including six corporations and three municipalities, have to get approval for their draft plan before October 31.

However, the opposition is saying that the councillors would need at least two days to go through the documents and give their suggestions.

The Mayor M. Anil Kumar said that the meeting was convened to pass the draft plan, and later it will be placed in the public domain to obtain their suggestions and recommendations. He also said that the document will be thoroughly discussed with all the stakeholders whose suggestions will be incorporated before the final approval.