Government to back LSGs in road development

The state government will extend its support to local bodies for acquiring land for the development of major roads under the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) scheme, Works Minister V K Ebrahim Kunju said here on Friday.

He was speaking after inaugurating the valedictory ceremony of the Vision 2030 workshop organised by the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA). “The civic administrators should take a final decision on the TDR scheme. Accordingly, the government will take steps to allot funds for land acquisition,” the minister said.

Ebrahim Kunju added that the ambitious project for remodeling 12 major roads by the Kerala Road Fund Board is at a standstill owing to the hurdles in land acquisition. “For the development of roads, we need a minimum of Rs 550 crore. But for the reconstruction of 12 roads, we need only Rs 300 crore. It is difficult to find such a huge amount for land acquisition. Hence, both the GCDA and the Kochi Corporation should consider utilising the possibilities of the TDR scheme,” he said.

Regarding the non-utilisation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission funds allotted for some projects, Ebrahim Kunju said that the preparation of a detailed project report is necessary to avoid such a situation. “A proper coordination between the project wing and the implementation agency is essential,” he said.

Former Union Minister S Krishnakumar presented a collation of ideas mooted at the seminar. Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Anoop Jacob, P C Chacko MP, MLAs V D Satheesan, Dominic Presentation and Saju Paul, Mayor Tony Chammany and GCDA chairman N Venugopal were present.