KOCHI: The Vyttila – Edappally highway beautification, a successful and unique initiative, has come to a halt following disputes among the agencies involved. The Kochi Bypass Beautification Society, which coordinates the beautification, has informed the Mayor that it was withdrawing from the initiative following difficulties faced from different quarters. The Kochi Corporation has strongly criticised the police authorities for erecting barricades with advertisements along the landscaped median. Talking to DC, Mayor Soumini Jain alleged that the police were “unnecessarily interfering in the rights of the civic body which cannot be allowed”. She added, “As per municipal rules, police have no right to put advertisements on barricades or handrails. Hence, it is a violation of rules to erect barricades with advertisements along the Highway,” she said.
A notice had been served to the police for removing the barricades failing which the Corporation would clear it,” added Ms. Jain. However, the police are yet to respond to the Mayor’s notice. Society representatives informed the Mayor that they could not continue maintenance of the stretch due to the non-cooperation of various organizations, departments and threats from political parties against removing of illegal display materials. The National Highway Authority of India and the Corporation signed a three-year agreement in 2014 for the beautification of the Edappally – Vyttila stretch.
“When there is an agreement between the two agencies, how can the police erect barricades without consulting the Corporation or NHAI? If the stretch is a highly vulnerable accident area, the barricades need not be removed, but in any case, the advertisements have to be cleared,” added the Mayor. The beautification project, under which the median along the 7.5 km stretch from Vyttila to Edappally was landscaped with flowering plants and by clearing billboards, hoardings and shrubs, was signed when Tony Chammany was the Mayor. The '2.5 crore project has been successfully implemented by the Society in which noted businessmen like Kochouseph Chittilappally are members.
