The Hindu 08.04.2010
Thrust on housing, sanitation
Special Correspondent
| Rs.3.26-crore surplus budget for Nedumangad municipality |
Regeneration of 10 slums proposed
Horticulture development scheme announced
Thiruvananthapuram: The Nedumangad municipality is embarking on a major initiative this year to provide houses for the needy.
Housing is the major thrust area in the in the annual budget for the year 2010-11 that was approved by the municipal committee in March. Municipal chairman Kollankavu G. Chandran said the number of beneficiaries covered under various housing schemes was expected to go up to 3,683 this year.
The Rs.3.26-crore surplus budget projects a revenue of Rs.32.23 crore and expenditure of Rs.28.96 crore.
As many as 683 families are to be provided houses and 150 landless families are to be given land under the EMS Housing Scheme. The budget proposes the regeneration of 10 slums under the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP). A sum of Rs.2 crore had been earmarked for the construction of sanitary latrines for 3,000 families under the Integrated Low Cost Sanitation (ILCS) scheme.
The budget presented by vice-chairman P.S. Sherif allocated Rs.6 crore for the construction of a Town Hall, near the Kacheri junction. Mr. Chandran said the work was expected to begin later this month. It is scheduled to be completed in a year. The town hall would have an auditorium capable of seating 1,200 people and a complex comprising 72 shops.
Mr. Chandran said the ongoing construction of a modern crematorium at Kallampara would be completed in six months.
The Rs.1 crore project includes two LPG-fired furnaces besides facilities to cremate bodies with firewood.
In the agriculture sector, another thrust area, the budget proposes a scheme to promote paddy farming by taking over fallow land and supplying seeds and fertilizer free of cost to farmers.
Banana saplings would also be given free of cost. Mr. Sherif also announced a horticulture development scheme with farmers being supplied with seeds and organic manure through Kudumbasree units.
In his budget speech, Mr. Sherif said the new campus of the Indian Institute of Space Technology at Valiamala and the completion of work on a lorry park and tourist terminal would generate more revenue for the municipality.
He said the completion of the second phase of the Kallingal- Mukkolackal parallel road would help to ease the traffic congestion in the town. The budget proposes a scheme to clean up and preserve water bodies.
The budget has set apart Rs.1.8 crore for self employment of women in the agriculture and animal husbandry sectors.
