Seven new parks, two new townships and shifting of the central jail, Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) and the Sree Chithra Institute for Medical Science and Research to Chenkottukonam are among the main proposals of the draft masterplan for Thiruvananthapuram that was handed over to the city Corporation by Minister for Urban Affairs Manjalamkuzhy Ali here on Monday. Deputy Mayor Happy Kumar accepted the draft plan from Mr. Ali.
The plan recommends regulated development in what it defines as the core city, redevelopment of the ‘central city’, intensive development of the outer city and conservative development of the ‘city periphery.’ Each development area has been designated a separate Floor Area Ratio (FAR). The plan recommends setting aside 10 per cent of the total available land in the city for the economically weaker sections of society.
New townships have been recommended at Chenkottukonam and Vizhinjam. A new court complex has been envisaged at Kazhakkuttom. Akkulam would be home to a ‘multimodal mobility hub’ and Kattaikkonam would get an industrial area, a ‘common medical institution’ and a nanotechnology research hub.
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New parks and open spaces have been proposed at Chenkottukonam, near Mar Ivanios College, Akkulam, near the Peroorkada-Mannarkonam road, near Mudavanmughal, Attukal, Thiruvallam, Nemon-Punnamood Road, Muttakkad and Mukkola.
The shifting of the RCC and the Sree Chithra Medical Centre has been suggested to free up space for the development of the Medical College Hospital.
Once the prison is shifted to Chenkottukonam, the present structure should be converted into a heritage site which can have light and sound shows to attract people. The plan suggests a light and sound show based on ‘Mathilukal’, penned by Vaikkom Muhammed Basheer.
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The draft plan also speaks of a Kovalam-Thiruvallam tourist hub, an international convention centre at Akkulam, ring and radial roads in a ‘grid iron’ pattern for the city and cycle tracks connecting work centres with residences. The plan envisages the development and conservation of the Karamana and Killi rivers, the Pattom, Ulloor, Amayizhanchan canals, the Parvathy Puthanar, and the Akkulam and Vellayani lakes as part of a scheme to prevent flooding in the city.
The draft plan would now come up for discussion in the Corporation council. The draft plan will be notified and people would be given 60 days to offer suggestions.