Unauthorised hoardings, display boards and banners exhibited in the city will soon be cleared and city beautified, thanks to the upcoming meeting of investors.
The cleaning programme comes as part of the preparatory works for Emerging Kerala, the investors meeting to be held in Kochi in September.
A meeting of the civic administrators from Nedumbassery to Maradu will implement the city beautification programme.
A committee headed by Kochi Mayor Tony Chammany will meet on September 4 to chart out the future programme.
The Corporation will immediately take up the cleaning programme including the removal of posters, hoardings and banners displayed on trees and many parts of the city. The cleaning of city roads and making the damaged ones navigable also form part of the preparatory works.
The removal of weeds along the median of the National Highway between Vyttila and Edapally will be undertaken by the National Highway authorities. The Public Works Department will undertake the repair of roads in its possession, he said.
The State government had recently convened a meeting of the civic heads of various government departments to discuss the cleaning programme.
The meeting had also discussed various schemes for the beautification of the city.
The need for sprucing up the roads connecting the Nedumbassery international airport and Maradu where the conclave will be held was highlighted at the meeting, Mr. Chammany said.
Funds sought
The Corporation will approach the State government for financial support for the preparatory works as the civic body may not be able to meet the expenses on its own. The civic body will write to the Chief Minister seeking funds for the implementation of the projects, Mr. Chammany said.
Though the civic administrators had earlier planned a Kochi development summit as a prelude to the Emerging Kerala meet, it failed to materialise. The idea was to find out the city projects that could be showcased at the investors meet for funding. The summit could not be convened as a convenient date from the Chief Minister could not be obtained, said Mr. Chammany.
The Kochi Corporation will not be showcasing any projects at the Emerging Kerala meeting as mega industrial projects mooted by investors would be coming up for discussion at the meeting. Though the Kochi development summit could not be held, the Corporation will explore how the city would benefit from the investors’ conclave. Kochi Corporation needs to do a follow up of the summit to find out whether any projects would be beneficial to the city, he said.
