A one-day workshop to discuss the draft master plan for the capital
will be held at Kanakakkunnu Palace Hall here on Tuesday from 10 am. The
master plan was published on March 19 this year and the City
Corporation had released the notification on April 8. The 60 days
allocated as per the Town Plan Act to compile the suggestions and
complaints is getting over by June 6.

 According to the master
plan, to be realised by 2031, the city gets divided into four zones,
namely city core, central city, outer city and city periphery. In the
first zone, priority is given for public and semi-public use, followed
by commercial development and residential development in the second and
third places.

 The central city is considered as the area suitable
for the extension of the commercial area in the core, taking into
account the comparatively low population density and built-up intensity.
Hence, developments under public and semi-public, commercial and
residential sectors will get equal priority.

 The availability of
vacant land in the outer city can be expected to cater to the future
residential demand of the city. The periphery area comprising dry
agriculture will be retained as it is.

The master plan aims to
enrich the greenery of the city. Seven parks are suggested, in addition
to the existing ones. A traffic network to avoid the traffic congestion
in the city centre is included. By relocating the Central Jail at
Poojappura to Chenkottukonam, the plan is to maintain the jail at
Poojappura as a heritage structure.

 Protecting the natural
drainage arrangements – Karamana and Killi rivers, Pattom, Ulloor and
Amayizhanjan canals and Akkulam, Parvathy Puthanar and Vellayani lakes;
green zone; green belt; and water retention areas in the low-lying areas
are among the suggestions. When some areas in the green zone of the
previous master plan are suggested for other developments, it is
directed that planned drainage facilities must be set up for its
implementation. When land is given for development through this
land-pooling scheme, 10 per cent will be set aside for financially
backward families.

 Two city centres at Kazhakkoottam and
Vizhinjam are envisaged. There is a suggestion for the development of
Medical College by shifting the Regional Cancer Centre and Sri Chitra
Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology to Chenkottukonam.

 In
the Kazhakkoottam-Chenkottukonam region, a Court Complex to include a
High Court bench in future is planned. Bringing together road, rail, air
and waterways is planned for a mobility hub in Akkulam. Considering the
development associated with the Vizhinjam port, a logistic centre is
planned there.

 By processing a good portion of the organic waste
generated at the source-level itself, a recommendation is there to
process it at community-level in the markets. Facilities to process
non-biodegradable and e-waste are also proposed.

 Tuesday’s
workshop will be inaugurated by Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi
Ali. Mayor K Chandrika will preside over. Union Minister of State for
Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor, Health Minister V S Sivakumar
and MLAs V Sivankutty, K Muraleedharan, Jameela Prakasam and M A Vahid
will be present. People’s representatives, engineers, builders,
architects, traders, industrialists, representatives of various
organisations and experts are invited.

Land Use

* The proposed land use falls under three major heads and they are further divided into sub-categories:

* Built-up zone: Expecting built-up development.

* Green zones: Conserved from the environment point of view; not meant for extensive built-up development.

* Special zones: For specific development projects.