With just three months left in its term, Kochi Corporation placed a draft of annual plan projects for 2015-16 under decentralised planning for the consideration of the council in a special council meeting held on Friday.
The draft of projects with a total outlay of Rs. 144.28 crore was presented by T.J. Vinod, chairman, development standing committee. Of the total outlay, Rs. 48.79 crore was by way of spill over and Rs. 95.50 crore was this year’s budgetary allocation.
Presiding over the meeting, Mayor Tony Chammany said the council would meet on June 2 to discuss and approve the plan projects. While the production sector has been allocated Rs. 5.43 crore, service and infrastructure sectors have been allocated Rs. 24.47 crore each. Under the production sector, agriculture has been allocated Rs. 50 lakh, animal husbandry Rs. 1.43 crore, fishing Rs. 2.50 crore, and small scale industries Rs. 1 crore.
Under the services sector, education, culture and youth have been allocated Rs. 1.03 crore, health Rs. 2.30 crore, solid waste treatment Rs. 2.10 crore, drinking water Rs. 25 lakh, art, culture, and beautification Rs. 2 crore, women and child welfare Rs. 5.50 crore, poverty alleviation Rs. 3.50 crore, social welfare Rs. 3.50 crore, better delivery of public services Rs. 79 lakh and housing Rs. 3 crore.
Transportation has been given the maximum allocation of Rs. 12 crore among infrastructure projects followed by Rs. 8 crore towards eradication of water logging and Rs. 4.47 crore towards energy and public buildings.
Mr. Vinod admitted to a delay in preparing the projects since the focus was on the implementation of projects for 2014-15 during which the Corporation had emerged as one of the best performing municipal corporations in the State with fund utilisation in excess of 67 per cent. He said the performance could be repeated if the Mayor and the Opposition leader joined hands as in the previous year.
The preparation of projects started with the reconstitution of working groups, which codified the proposals of ward-level meetings. This was followed by a development seminar, recommendations of which were incorporated into the draft before securing the approval of standing committees.
The corporation has to complete the vetting of proposals and get them approved by the district planning committee before June 15.
Councillors will meet on June 2, says Mayor
Transportation given maximum allocation among infrastructure projects
