In a surplus budget presented in the Tripunithura municipal council on Wednesday for the year 2014-15, the focus is on building infrastructure for the Metro Rail that was recently extended up to the town from its earlier terminus at Petta.
The budget estimates revenue receipts of Rs. 125.90 crore and an expenditure of Rs. 124.43 crore, leaving a surplus of Rs. 1.47 crore
Tilothama Suresh, the standing committee chairperson for finance, presenting the fourth budget of the council, earmarked Rs. 50 crore for improving the transport and related facilities in the town that involves developing quite a few new roads and making a beginning for the proposed new bus terminus near the railway station.
Road infrastructure around the town has been provided for in the budget with Rs. 25 lakh towards beginning work on the Chitrapuzha-Mamala Bund Road. This will relieve the bottleneck at Thiruvamkulam that is causing heavy traffic congestion.
Likewise, the budget has provided Rs. 2 crore for rehabilitation package for the traders and others affected by building the railoverbridge at Eroor, for which work sanction has been received.
Waste management being one of the problem areas that the municipality is facing, the budget has earmarked Rs. 75 lakh to continue waste management facilities provided through subsidised schemes of Suchitwa Mission and to find possibilities of setting up a waste processing plant at Mekkara.
For a major makeover in one of the prized areas of the town, the budget has provided Rs. 4 crore to buy land where the old RLV College of Music and Fine Arts had functioned. A number of meetings have been held with the District Collector to take over the land owned by the Palace Administration Board.
The municipality has proposed to cut down the fee charged at the gas crematorium for BPL families to Rs.1,000. The charge of Rs.2,500 had created a public protest recently. The municipality has provided temporary sanction to use the wood-based crematorium till another gas chamber unit gets ready. For this, Rs. 15 lakh has been provided.
The much awaited Thanneerchal tourism project that will also add to the municipality’s revenues, is expected to be completed this year. The project that is coming up with the BPCL’s help. An amount of Rs. 2.9 crore has been earmarked for its completion.
