A day after the Kozhikode Corporation Council passed a resolution, asking the State government to withdraw the move to separate Elathur, Cheruvannur and Beypore regions from the civic body, former Mayors of Kozhikode extended their support to the council.
The Forum for City Development, which consists of the former Mayors and a group of organisations for the development of the city, have called for a human chain in Kozhikode on January 28 against the ‘injustice’ towards the Corporation.
Former Mayor T.P. Dasan told reporters here on Saturday that instead of cutting off the regions from the Corporation, there was a dire need for adding more regions (panchayats) to it so that the population of the city was raised to 10 lakh.
He said the said population was mandatory for the city to be eligible for most Centrally funded schemes.
Mr. Dasan pointed out that the three regions were added to the Corporation in 2010 to increase the population and thereby obtain more funds for developmental activities in the city.
Population
However, the population still remained just above six lakh. Nearby panchayats such as Olavanna, Perumanna, and Kunnamangalam could be added to the Corporation to solve this issue, he said.
Former Mayor M. Bhaskaran said that cutting off regions from a Corporation was unheard of and alleged that it was a move to reduce the status of the Corporation.
Regions were being added to Thrissur and Kochi Corporations to increase the city area and population and bring about more development. “We will deal with this issue legally,” he said.
Vice Chairman of Kerala Sustainable Development Initiative C. Janardhanan said that reducing the size would prove a setback to Kozhikode’s development.
He sought the support of all citizens for a broader Kozhikode.
Former Mayors M.M. Padmavathi, U.T.Rajan and Thottathil Raveendran were present at the press meet.
‘Add Olavanna, Perumanna, Kunnamangalam’
‘Regions added to Thrissur, Kochi Corporations’
