A sports master plan will be readied with the help of local bodies in the Greater Kochi area to build stadiums and local playgrounds, wherein sports activities suited for each locale will be promoted. A sum of ₹20 lakh has been set apart to ready the plan, K. Chandran Pillai, Chairman of the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) told the media after presenting his maiden budget on Thursday. The help of national/international sportspersons, sports councils, and clubs too will be sought for the purpose.
Terming the condition of the roof of the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium at Kaloor as “hazardous”, Mr. Pillai said the State government was expected to pool in with ₹6 crore of the total ₹18 crore needed to renovate the roof. The stadium will be developed as an apt venue for different types of sports and also for socio-cultural get-togethers. A multi-level parking facility will be readied for cars to clear space around the stadium for walkers and bicyclists.
Similarly, the Ambedhkar Stadium near the KSRTC bus stand will be renovated as a sports city, for which ₹20 lakh was allotted in the budget for preparatory work.
The budget also prominently mentioned a ₹30-crore project to renovate and augment the capacity of two sewage treatment plants (STPs) and to build new ones using funds from the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Board (KIIFB) and the Rebuild project.
A sum of ₹50 lakh was set apart for the preparatory work of affordable housing projects that will be readied with government subsidy and with the help of HUDCO. A ₹14.61-crore project has been planned to rehabilitate 82 families living in P&T Colony to Mundamveli under the LIFE Mission scheme.
Mr. Pillai added that a convention centre would be built on a three-acre plot owned by the GCDA at Manappatiparambu in Kaloor. The ₹30-crore project is expected to be completed as a public private partnership (PPP) venture.
A destination management plan will be readied for Marine Drive, while toilets will shortly be readied, including for differently abled people and members of the LGBT community. A tourist boat jetty on the waterfront, estimated to cost ₹18 crore, will be readied on PPP basis.
He assured that structures put up in the historic Rajendra Maidan as part of the laser show, which turned out to be a failure, will be pulled down and the ground restored to its old glory under a ₹25-lakh project. Likewise, Changampuzha Park and other parks will be renovated, using CSR and MLA/MP funds. A sum of ₹1 crore will be set apart this year. A 2.20-km walkway has been planned at the Aluva Manappuram.
Miyawaki forests and other greening drives have been planned in urban spaces that have been lying vacant, under a ₹50-lakh project. A ₹2-crore eco tourism centre has been envisaged in 17 acres at Rameshwaram (West Kochi). A sum of ₹10 lakh will be spent to ready a feasibility report on a digital archive museum of regional artists, with help of the Department of Culture, while a heritage mapping will be done in Fort Kochi.
An accommodation facility capable of hosting 200 bystanders of patients admitted to the Government Medical College, Kalamassery, and a She Hostel on 23 cents near the Ernakulam Junction railway station will be readied. The Kaloor market will be renovated at a cost of ₹5.55 crore.
The GCDA’s quality control lab will be modernised at a cost of ₹10 lakh, while solar panels will be fixed atop the agency’s office. Efforts are also on to obtain ISO certification for the GCDA, which will help local bodies ready GIS management systems for asset-mapping, land use maps, and taxation.
