The Hindu 06.10.2010
All ongoing projects in city to continue
Staff Reporter
| Corporation governing panel to review work |
Weekly schedule to be drawn up
Governing panel not to take policy decisions
Kozhikode: The interim governing committee of the City Corporation decided on Tuesday to continue ongoing projects, including road repairs, within the specified time frame.
A meeting of the three-member committee, chaired by District Collector P.B. Salim, at the Corporation office asked the officials, particularly those of the engineering section, to execute the projects endorsed by the elected council whose term had ended. A weekly schedule would be drawn up to follow up the projects. The officials would have to submit a report to the committee on a weekly basis.
The committee, including Corporation Secretary S. Vijayakumar and Corporation Engineer Sheikh Ismail, will function till the new council comes into being on November 1. The State government had appointed the committee under Section 65(1) of the Kerala Municipality Act.
Dr. Salim said the committee would take no policy decisions. Its formation was a temporary arrangement, but that did not mean municipal governance would come to a standstill. All pending and ongoing projects, such as the EMS Housing Scheme, installation of streetlights, drinking water schemes and sanitation programmes, would be implemented within the specified time frame.
Taking part in the deliberations, K. Narayanan, Project Manager, Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Programme, explained the progress of its five components being implemented in the city.
The programme, financed by the Asian Development Bank, costs Rs.154 crore.
He said all works under the Rs.37-crore road and transportation component had been completed. The solid-waste management project would be finished this month. Tenders had been invited for the sewerage and sanitation and the urban drainage components.
Mr. Narayanan said infrastructure development works envisaged under the community and slum improvement components were apace. Schemes had been completed in 14 of the 40 colonies where the project had been implemented.
He requested the governing committee to speed up the proposal to acquire around 80 cents (0.3 hectare) of land for setting up seven pumping stations for the sewerage.
The committee approved invitation of tenders for distribution and collection of election materials and for providing loudspeakers at counting centres for the Corporation polls. Tenders had been approved for Rs.96,000 for lighting arrangements at polling stations.
It decided to sanction Rs.50,000 each to three returning officers — the Fisheries Deputy Director; the District Social Welfare Officer and the Deputy Collector (Land Recovery) — for poll-related expenses in 75 council wards.
Corporation Additional Secretary M. Kunhimohammed attended the meeting in the absence of the Corporation Secretary.
