The Road Development Committee formed by the Kochi Corporation to support the construction work of the Thammanam-Pullepady road will be reconstituted shortly.
This is being done as part of the preparatory works for starting the project as the State government has decided to release Rs.25 crore for the land acquisition of the road project. Tony Chammany, Kochi Mayor, said that the corporation is waiting for the government order allotting funds for the project.
It was during the term of the previous LDF-led civic administration that the committee was formed. With the change of guard at the Kochi Corporation, the reconstitution of the committee has become necessary, said Mr. Chammany.
TDR campaign
Though the State government had also cleared a proposal for the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) for the road project, a government order on this is yet to be issued.
Mr. Chammany said once the order is issued, the corporation will undertake an awareness campaign in the city regarding the TDR. The members of the civil society, trading community and stakeholders will be made aware of the scheme.
According to the TDR concept, those who surrender their holdings for the road project can avail of relaxations in building rules and these benefits can be transferred for other properties or even sold to other persons.
Novel scheme
The innovative scheme is expected to encourage people for surrendering land for the project. However, awareness has to be created among the land owners and the prospective buyers of the TDR, he said. The holdings that are not thus surrendered will be acquired using the provisions of the land acquisition rules and the price for the holdings will be fixed by the district-level purchase committee headed by the District Collector. Nearly 50 per cent of the land required for the development of the road is in possession of the civic body and the rest will be procured through the TDR scheme and land acquisition, he said.
Mulavukad project
The State government has also included the land acquisition for the 7-metre-wide road project of Mulavukad Island in the fast track project.
Help sought
The panchayat had earlier approached the State government with a request for including the land acquisition in the 100-day-programme announced by the Chief Minister, said A. K. Dinakaran, president of the Mulavukad panchayat.
In the first phase of the road project, five holdings need to be acquired, he said.
