Kerala government approves Kochi city master plan

KOCHI, Kerala: The Kerala state government has approved the Kochi city master plan, which marks the end of the 20-year-long efforts of the Kochi Municipal Corporation to formulate the plan document. The new master plan will come into effect after it is notified by the Kerala government in the state gazette.

The state government issued an order approving the recommendation of the Chief Town Planner to approve the master plan document. Once the master plan gets notified in the state gazette, all development and construction activities in the city will be carried out as per the plan, informed M Anil Kumar, Mayor of Kochi Municipal Corporation.

Earlier, the city development was being carried out in accordance with the 1991 Structural Plan and the Detailed Town Planning Schemes. The new master plan will supersede this plan and guide all the developmental activities in Kochi till 2040.

Kochi city got its first master plan back in 1970. Later, during the Kochi Corporation Council under the leadership of Mayor CM Dinesh, the civic body was asked to frame the vision document. It took the corporation two decades to frame the plan, which was then notified in 1991.

This time, Kochi Municipal Corporation, along with other municipalities in the state, were asked to prepare the master plan as it is one of the primary conditions to avail the financial benefits promised to the local bodies under the central Government’s Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation (AMRUT) scheme.

Overall, the city is aiming to create a comprehensive master plan for the Greater Cochin Area, which consists of neighbouring Thrikkakara, Maradu, Kalamassery, and Thripunithura municipalities. Mayor Anil Kumar said that once these civic bodies prepare their vision documents, they can be incorporated into the comprehensive master plan for the greater Cochin Area.