The Ambedkar stadium in Ernakulam is in a state of disrepair and abandonment. The GCDA will ready a scheme to level the ground of Ambedkar Stadium and to install lights to host sportspersons and to weed out anti-social elements from the premises that has become a hub for criminals.
| Photo Credit: R.K. NITHIN
Amid a slew of yet-to-be implemented projects that were announced during the past years, the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) Budget for 2023-24 was presented here on Saturday by its Chairman K. Chandran Pillai.
As per the Budget proposals, the GCDA expects ₹182 crore revenue and ₹127 crore expense during the fiscal. Citing the need for scientific management of garbage (in the wake of the panic that gripped much of Ernakulam following the fire at Brahmapuram), Mr. Pillai noted that a slew of modern, sustainable techniques were available for it, and that the GCDA could lend its expertise to local bodies.
Addressing the media after presenting the Budget, he said the Kochi Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA), as suggested by Kerala High Court, could be established in four months’ time. It needed adequate powers and responsibilities to catalyse the city’s development, he said and added that the GCDA would shortly publish the happiness index of Kochi.
In view of the grossly inadequate open spaces in the city, the GCDA will renovate Changampuzha Park, parks in Kakkanad and 10 parks at Panampilly Nagar and Girinagar. The Budget also cited the need for creating mini forests, including miyawaki forests, as part of urban afforestation to make up for the fast-depleting greenery. In addition, the Periyar Action Plan will be taken up in all seriousness this year, and renewed emphasis will be given to rejuvenate the Periyar and Vembanad backwaters. Volunteers and managements of factories on either side of the Periyar will be roped in for this.
A sum of ₹1 crore of the expected ₹5 crore expense has been set apart for laying turf-protection tiles at the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium, the home ground of Kerala Blasters football club. This is aimed at enabling the ground to be used all through the year, including for hosting other sports and cultural events. A modern urban space around the stadium and a ₹1.5-crore project to install solar panels atop the stadium’s roof too have been envisaged. The GCDA will also ready a scheme to level the ground of Ambedkar Stadium and to install lights to host sportspersons and to weed out anti-social elements from the premises that has become a hub for criminals.
An amount of ₹1 crore has been earmarked for preparing a detailed project report (DPR) for the City Square that the GCDA envisaged over a year ago in 470 cents at Manappattiparambu. It will be a shopping mall-cum-multiplex having office space, convention centre, and outdoor recreation spaces that other malls do not have.
The Budget speaks of the GCDA constructing 100 modern disabled friendly toilets at a cost of ₹20 crore using CSR funds of various companies. It also speaks of a ₹150-crore post-production amenity for movies at Gandhinagar, which will be realised in association with the Kerala State Film Development Corporation. A ₹3-crore transgender hostel will be built near the international stadium and handed over to the Kudumbashree to operate. A ₹6.6 crore She Hostel will be built for accommodating working women and students in 23 cents near the Ernakulam Junction railway station, while the night shelter for destitute people will be renovated at a cost of ₹20 lakh. Similarly, ₹1 crore has been earmarked to provide free accommodation to students from marginalised communities to commemorate the Kaayal Sammelanam of 1913.
The Marine Drive shopping complex will be redeveloped as a modern shopping mall, including with escalators and lifts, at an expense of ₹2.50 crore. Efforts are on to identify land on lease on the waterfront to set up a maritime museum to showcase Kochi’s rich maritime history. A sum of ₹10 lakh has been set apart for preparatory work.
The GCDA also agreed to extend financial help to the Kochi-Muziris Biennale. The Dutch Cemetery in Fort Kochi will be renovated at a cost of ₹25 lakh, considering its tourism potential, in tandem with the CSI Church. The Dhobhi Khana in Fort Kochi that dates back to the colonial era will be redeveloped.
Automated parking will be accorded the pride of place, considering the worsening parking woes in Kochi, while ₹25 lakh has been set apart for electric vehicle recharging stations.
