The development seminar of the Thiruvananthapuram city Corporation, ahead of the preparation of the civic body's annual plan for the 2021-22 financial year, was held on Sunday.
The draft plan presented at the seminar listed out 174 small and big projects, including multi-year projects and new initiatives. Working groups of various sectors put the draft to discussion through the day, and put forward suggestions and amendments.
Inaugurating the seminar at the Girideepam convention centre, Tourism Minister Kadakampally Surendran said that the People's Plan programme has become an agent of social change in the State. Touching upon the various aspects of the proposed plan, he said that the Corporation should aim towards providing the necessary basic infrastructure for the public. He said that though the civic body has adapted decentralised methods to handle waste, there is a need to create awareness among the public on the necessity of a centralised waste treatment plant.
“The idea for a centralised plant has become impossible now. We have reached a state where we cannot even install a plastic shredding machine due to public opposition. Can we close our eyes to the need for a centralised treatment plant in a city which is growing day by day? An awareness has to be created among the public regarding this. There is also the need for more scientific decentralised waste management methods,” he said.
He said that the Corporation should also look towards creating more open spaces in the city, for the children and the elders to unwind. He also pointed at the need to focus on improving drinking water supply in the city, providing more houses for the poor and upgrading infrastructural facilities in schools and hospitals, for all of which there are State Government projects, which the civic body can augment for its purposes.
Enough funds
Finance Minister T.M.Thomas Isaac, who addressed the seminar through video conferencing, said that the Corporation should prioritise the projects that it can take up, as it will not have enough funds to implement all projects together.
“The main aim of the Corporation should be to address the issue of joblessness. You should discuss and decide as to how many jobs can be provided in the Corporation area within one year. This can be in any sector, be it services or agricultural sector. The Kerala bank, Industries Department or other financial institutions are ready to disburse loans to entrepreneurs. The civic body should devise a scheme through which it can pay the interest rates of the loans availed by these entrepreneurs,” he said.
Mayor Arya Rajendran, who presided over the function, said that the Corporation’s aim is to ensure that its developmental initiatives reach all city residents in each of the hundred wards.
V.K.Prasanth, MLA, former Mayor of the Corporation, spoke on the major initiatives in various sectors during his tenure.
