KOZHIKODE: The state government has dissolved the Calicut Development Authority (CDA) which has a history of many decades with the backing of more than Rs 500-crore funds. The decision reportedly taken in the name of resource crunch came at a time the CDA had been on various developmental projects worth around Rs 18 crore. Among the city development authorities in the state, the CDA was one among the oldest. In 1967 there was a Calicut Town Planning Trust (CTPT) which later transformed into the Joint Town Planning Committee, and subsequently, in 1980, a full-fledged CDA came into being with the municipal corporation and nine adjoining panchayats under its jurisdiction.
Later the LDF government disbanded the authority and transferred its powers, workforce, assets and liabilities to the corporation, arguing that the civic body was enough to do its job. V.K.C. Mammad Koya MLA said the disbanding was part of the LDF policy. “The previous UDF dispensation brought back the entity earlier removed by LDF from the administrative structure. “Now again LDF is in power, and we decided to reverse it," he told DC.
“The municipal corporation is sufficient to undertake the developmental works.” However, many feel the independent body was capable of envisaging and executing projects in a better way than the corporation with bureaucratic bottlenecks. Malabar Development Council president C.E. Chakkunny said many projects underway would now be hampered or delayed.
