Slums in coastal wards to be improved under BSUP

The slums in the coastal wards of Puthenpally and Beemapally will be developed under the Basic Services for the Urban Poor (BSUP) scheme.

The Corporation’s standing committee on Works, which met here on Monday, accorded sanction to various projects to be taken up, committee chairman V.S. Padmakumar told The Hindu.

Roads and drainage system would be improved. Buildings would be constructed to house library-cum-study centres and Anganwadis. The work at Puthenpally was estimated to cost Rs.1.61 crore and that at Beemapally, Rs.1.59 crore, he said.

“The standing committee decision will be placed before the next Council meeting for its approval. Once the Council gives its nod, work will commence,” he said.

Of the Rs.208 crore sanctioned for the city under the BSUP, Rs.70 crore had been earmarked for infrastructure development in slums and adjoining areas. The rest would be used for housing projects, an official in the Works wing of the Corporation said.

Infrastructure work at Pongamoodu Alappuram colony, Puthanpura Attingal colony, Poonkulam Kalladichanmula, Nalanchira, Poundukadavu, Shanghumughom, and Vallakkadavu had been completed. The work included improvement of roads, drainage systems, and construction of Anganwadis and markets, the official said. The deadline for completing the work was fast approaching and the Corporation was expediting the planning and execution of work. Tenders had been finalised for work at Vellar, Poonthura, and Beemapally and, shortly, this would be placed before the standing committee for approval, the official added.