The Kottayam Municipality has set a goal of constructing
a foot overbridge in the town. The announcement was made by Municipal
vice-chairperson Rajam G. Nair during the presentation of the Annual
Budget for the financial year 2013-14.The proposed foot overbridge will
connect the busy Post Office junction with the Sashtri Road. The
overbridge will be constructed with a provision of escalators.

The
Budget envisages a revenue of Rs. 81,06,40,592 and an outlay of Rs.
73,74,93,200 with a surplus of Rs. 7,31,47,392. The carryover from the
previous year is Rs. 6,51,62,109. Ms. Nair also presented the revised
Budget for 2012-13 of which the total revenue is Rs. 50,10,85,525 and
the total expenditure is Rs. 43,59,23,416.

The budget
has earmarked an amount of Rs. 3 crore for constructing a new office
complex for the Municipality at Kodimatha. The proposed building will
incorporate all facilities required to ensure computerisation and the
e-governance programme. The Municipality had allocated an amount of Rs.
1.5 crore in the previous Budget for the same purpose.

The
Budget also aims at ensuring uninterrupted water supply in all 52 wards
of the Municipality. It has been stated that efforts have commenced to
implement the project on large-scale with Central assistance.

A
cost of around Rs.182 crore has been estimated for the project that
will include all related activities including pumping, storing and
distributing water. The Central government’s approval is expected for a
proposal that aims at removing waste from all major canals. Furthermore,
as many as 200 open wells will be constructed during the year in order
to ensure the availability of potable water.

The
Budget also states that electricity will be generated from the solid
waste processed at the proposed plant at Vadavathoor. An amount of Rs.
1.54 crore has been allocated for the proposed method of using the
accumulated waste at the dumping yard at Vadavathoor. Another allocation
of Rs.1.21 crore has been made for implementing the source-level waste
disposal programme.

With an
intention of promoting a tourist-friendly approach, a tourist hub that
includes a tourist information centre, open-air restaurant, pre-paid
taxi and boat counter will be established at Kodimatha.