Thiruvananthapuram: Kattayikonam, the epicentre of the previous Masterplan controversies, was where the field survey related to preparing the new Masterplan was launched on Saturday.
Thiruvananthapuram Corporation has promised a transparent preparation process with people’s participation, as the earlier draft Masterplan had met with a lot of resistance, especially in wards like Kattayikonam, Chandavila and Chenkot-tukonam.
Mayor V.K. Prasanth described the need for a plan in detail. There has to be a vision to guide the development of our capital, he said. He added that the city had been competing with other Indian cities, and is also the capital of Kerala. He said that the city is developing each day, because of new businesses investing in the city.
“New IT firms are coming up. Various central and state government projects like Rs1,538-crore smart city project and Vizhinjam project are being implemented. The city needs development. However, if it proceeds without a vision, it can cause problems to common people, and this is why a plan was needed,” he said.
The mayor said that he was talking in detail to avoid misunderstanding. Inaugurating it, minister in-charge of Thiruvananthapuram district Kadakampally Surendran, said that he too was someone who suffered because of the previous draft plan. “When we say the word ‘masterplan’, people in Kattayi-konam, Chandavila and Chenkottukonam get anxious. I also fear the word, as I am someone who has endured the problems of the previous draft plan,” he said.
In addition to the flaws of the previous draft, people’s misgivings were fanned, after they started believing that they will be evicted from their homes. Areas which had a lot of buildings were marked as green strips, as it was based on an outdated map.
This time the field survey ensures that existing land use is documented. “Earlier master plans would be prepared by a few officials sitting together. This masterplan ensures people’s participation,” said deputy mayor Rakhi Ravikumar.
