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Budgetary support for capital development: CM

By Our Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM Oct. 15. The Chief Minister A. K. Antony has said the Government will allocate separate funds, in the next budget under a special account head for the development of Thiruvananthapuram city.

Inaugurating a meeting on the development of the capital city organised by the Thiruvananthapuram Development Council here today, he said it is the aim of the Government to make Thiruvananthapuram one of the most modern and beautiful cities in India in another five years. ``Thiruvananthapuram has not received the importance it deserved as the capital city. The Ministerial sub-committee that was set up to study the capital's development will prepare short and long-term plans for the city's development. We will look ahead 25 years when plans are drawn up,'' Mr. Antony said.

A `Clean Kerala' project will be drawn up, in two year's time, for making Kerala, garbage-free. In fact, it is the garbage and sewage problems that stand as the main impediments in the way of development activities in the capital city and other cities in the State.

More funds will be set apart for improving such infrastructure facilities such as education, tourism and transport. Centres such as Kazhakoottam and Vizhinjam will be nodal areas for the development process.

The need of the hour is to set apart ideological differences and work for the development of the capital city. Once the development of the capital city is completed, the Government will also turn its attention to similar developmental activities for other cities.

The Congress leader, K. Karunakaran, who presided over the function, said different cities needed different development approaches. Some people make the mistake of thinking that development in Thiruvananthapuram means building high-rise structures. During the tenure of the previous UDF Government, Rs. 5 crores were set apart for the development of Thiruvananthapuram. However, this money was used to construct a five-storey building, Mr. Karunakaran said.

``I felt jealous when I happened to see the development taking place in the Gulf States. They have made their deserts into an oasis. I also felt happy when I learnt that Malayalis had and still have a big role to play in this development process,'' he added.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kerala, B. Ekbal, the BJP leader, K. Raman Pillai, and the retired bureaucrat, T. N. Jayachandran, were among those who were present at the meeting.

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