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Vyttila bus terminal project in a limbo

Renu Ramanath

Agriculture Department's delay in handing over land

KOCHI: With the Department of Agriculture dragging its feet on handing over land to the Ernakulam district panchayat, the prospects of establishing a bus terminal at Vyttila remain uncertain.

Agriculture Minister Mullakkara Rathnakaran had visited the proposed site for the bus terminal at Vyttila in the middle of January. Offering total support for the project, the Minister had promised to convene a meeting of stakeholders in the second week of February. However, even by the end of March, no meeting had been convened.

District panchayat president P.S. Shyla said the panchayat had not yet received any information from the Minister's office regarding the meeting. Ms. Shyla said the panchayat would take up the issue with the Minister.

Meanwhile, the coconut powder factory proposed to be set up by the Kerakarshaka Sahakarana Federation (Kerafed) on its land at Vyttila has been shifted to Karungappally in Kollam district. The factory was shifted following the refusal by the Corporation to grant building permit due to the zoning restrictions in the area, according to N. Ravikumar, managing director, Kerafed. The foundation stone for the Rs.6-crore factory was laid in December 2004. However, work could not be started due to zoning restrictions. According to an old zonal map of Kochi which is still being followed, Vyttila is classified as agricultural land, which means no sanction could be given for construction activities there.

However, the Kerafed authorities decided to shift the factory when the project began to run into losses due to delay in construction even after the equipment had arrived. Shifting the equipment to Karunagappally started two or three months back and work has started there, Mr. Ravikumar said. The factory is expected to be commissioned by December this year.

Meanwhile, Kerafed continues to be firm on its stand that land which had been initially set aside for the welfare of coconut farmers in the State should not be diverted for any other purposes. The Kerafed was making plans for more projects, including a solvent extractions centre.

ICICI Kinfra had drawn up a proposal for a Rs.30-crore project to be implemented on a built-operate-transfer basis. The project would need at least 15 acres of land. As the district panchayat has only seven acres at Vyttila, the major chunk of the land will have to be obtained from the Agriculture Department, which has a host of offices and nurseries functioning there.

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