Thiruvananthapuram: The 'Smart Cities Challenge' proposal will be about a pedestrian-friendly decongested Chalai-Thampanoor-East Fort area. The final area selected may fall in these wards, though Palayam, Vazhuthacaud, Thycaud and Valyasala are also part of the Central Business District (CBD) area. While CBD area was chosen as the proposed location for development last week, the area limits were yet to be decided. On Monday, IDeCK, the Smart City consultant, and the technical committee will meet to mark the boundaries of the place to be developed. According to a source, Chalai, Thampanoor and East Fort stand a greater chance of selection as they have the highest population density.
“Apart from people residing in the area, there is a significant number of floating population which will benefit from the project. It will have an impact on commuters and shopkeepers, who make use of this area,” the official said. A maximum of 1200 acres can be chosen. In this, redevelopment and retrofitting are the possible strategies. The minimum area which can be redeveloped in the smart cities’ project is 500 acres and that which can be retrofitted is 50 acres. Vehicular traffic will be regulated and the place will be made accessible to people with disabilities. A wheelchair-friendly core city and technology that provides location assistance to people with visual impairment were some of the ideas considered. The heritage structures will be protected.
“There are at least 20 heritage structures which can be conserved, but are yet to be listed by the department. Sree Padmanabha Swamy Temple is not in the list, though preliminary steps to declare it as a heritage structure were taken,” says INTACH Thiruvananthapuram chapter coordinator Shaji Krishnan. The Oommen Chandy government in the 2016-2017 budget had decided to establish a Rs 100-crore Sree Padmanabha Aranmula Pilgrim Tourism Circuit project with central assistance. Though Smart City is an independent project, the convergence of such existing projects will be considered.
