Date:12/10/2008 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2008/10/12/stories/2008101259160300.htm

Kerala - Kochi

SmartCity panel to submit report on hindrances

Staff Reporter

First meet of core committee on October 18

Discussions to assign role to stakeholders
Families move out of project site

KOCHI: The first meeting of the core committee that was formed on Friday to look into the roadblocks in the progress of the proposed SmartCity Kochi project will be held on October 18.

Talking to T he Hindu, District Collector M. Beena, who is the chairperson of the committee, said that at the first meeting the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), the Public Works Department (PWD), and the SmartCity Kochi representatives would present separate estimates on the cost required to resolve the two issues for which the core committee has been formed.

She said that discussions would be held to evolve a consensus over the estimate and assignment of roles to various stakeholders.

Ms. Beena said that the submission of the report might, however, take more than a week as the SmartCity officials have said that the estimate is yet to be prepared. The core committee’s brief was to give the report within a week.

“Preferably we would try to evolve a consensus at the first meeting itself and finalise the report on the same day. If not, then perhaps we would have to schedule another sitting,” she said.

Terms of reference

The terms of reference of the committee is to report on ways to settle the difference of opinion over the relocation of equipment and facilities belonging to the KSEB on a portion of the project land and the relocation of a PWD road passing through the middle of the project area.

Disputes arose after the SmartCity authorities felt that the estimate of Rs.1.4 crore drawn up by the KSEB as shifting charges was too high. Following this, the SmartCity entrusted its technical team to draft an estimate of its own.

However, the company had not raised much of a dispute over the Rs. 2 crore-estimate prepared by the PWD, Ms. Beena said.

She, however, said that out of the 246 acres, hurdles have been cleared for using the 136 acres with the shifting of all except but one of the 39 families living there.

The collector said that the families set a model by moving out on their own after the month of Ramzan as they promised. “We didn’t have to resort to any coercive measures for moving them,” she said.