District planning committee approves Kochi Corporation's projects worth Rs 138 crore

KOCHI: The district planning committee has approved the 988 projects submitted by the City Corporation worth Rs 138.72 crore to be implemented during the 2016 – 17 financial year. Some of the major projects include construction of Fort Kochi – Vypeen RO-RO vessels and jetties, procurement of modern covered vehicles for waste removal and housing scheme. Of the 988 projects, 178 are spillover projects which could not be carried out during the last financial year.

All these projects will be implemented before October end, said civic officials. Among the new projects, 718 are construction works which require technical sanction. “The civic body has initiated steps to get technical sanction for all these projects and to invite tenders for them in October,” added civic authorities. For the current fiscal, the maintenance funds allocated for road works is Rs 23.86 crore while the maintenance fund for non-roads is Rs 13.28 crore. Rs 2.75 crore will be spent for the projects under Pradhan Mantri Avas Yojana.

The EMS Town Hall will be renovated at a cost of Rs 1 crore while Rs 1.5 crore will be spent on acquiring land for the development of the 40-feet Road in Palluruthy. The civic body has also proposed to set up biogas plants in households for which Rs 1 crore has been earmarked. Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Rs 1.96 crore), digitization of Corporation libraries (Rs 15 lakh), setting up solid waste collection centres (Rs 80 lakh) are some of the other major projects to be carried out during the current financial year.