The City Corporation will take a Rs.60-crore loan from the Thiruvananthapuram District Cooperative Bank (DCB) for the EMS Housing Scheme.
Deputy Mayor V. Jayaprakash told the Corporation Council here on Tuesday that the assistance would require a government guarantee. “The repayment of the loan would be from the Corporation's Plan fund assistance,” he said. “As many as 9,000 houses are to be constructed for weaker sections in the city under various schemes including the Basic Service for the Urban Poor (BSUP), scattered housing scheme and the coastal housing programme, apart from the EMS scheme to be implemented in 14 wards,” he added.
The Opposition UDF members said the EMS scheme was not practical, given the need to procure land for landless families. But the ruling front maintained that the project was going ahead and would be completed.
The Council adopted a resolution urging the government to regulate parking on the road from Sreekaryam to Plamoodu. Moving the resolution, UDF leader Johnson Joseph said careless parking of vehicles was responsible for accidents on the congested stretch. He stressed the need to widen the road from Ulloor to Sreekaryam to remove the traffic bottleneck. During the debate on the resolution, councillors highlighted the need for foot overbridges to help pedestrians cross busy roads. UDF councillors questioned the Mayor's refusal to allow discussion on an adjournment motion by Poundukadavu ward councillor Veli Varghese on the inauguration of work on a breakwater at Veli.
