KOCHI: The third high power steering committee meeting of the Smart City Mission chaired by chief secretary S.M. Vijayanand in the state capital on Monday proposed additional chief secretary (transport) Elias George as the full-time CEO of Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML).
The meeting attended by nominated officials and city mayor Soumini Jain, the only elected people's representative on the panel, also decided to reconstitute the Smart City director board with the reshuffling of top bureaucrats by the new government.
"Though a final decision was not taken on the appointment of Elias George (MD of Kochi Metro Rail Limited), a consensus was reached on it. As per the CSML norms, the appointment of full-time CEO will be for three years," she said. Some of the other major decisions taken at the meeting include the formation of two subcommittees, one for giving administrative sanction for projects and the other for technical sanction. The mayor wants civic body's representatives in both committees.
"There is a need for subcommittees as the high power committee can't frequently meet to discuss and approve project plans," she said. It has also been decided to constitute a project management committee (PMC) with nominated members. Ms Jain also asked the committee to plan and implement detailed town planning (DTP) scheme in consultation with the civic body. "The DTP should be presented and discussed in the corporation council before it gets approved," she said.
"Moreover, the scheme has to be framed in a new dimension as all the Smart City areas are highly priced locations. If any revision has to be made in FAR (floor area ratio) in the project areas the municipal building rules have to be amended." Meanwhile, the CSML will be able to utilise the funds and start functioning only after the appointment of the full-time CEO and other staff.
The first instalment of funds to the tune of Rs 200 crore handed over by the Union government is now with the state government. Earlier, the second high power steering committee meeting had rejected the government's decision to appoint senior IAS officer K.N. Satheesh as the CEO.
