Cochin Smart City to use funds earmarked for vacuum sewer project

The Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) is planning to use the Rs 166 crore funds for other projects in a move to avoid a lapse of the funds earmarked for the vacuum sewer project.

The main impediment to the proposals is that they are all located outside of the smart city's Area-Based Development (ABD) region. The development projects that are being implemented as part of the smart city scheme are divided into two categories: pan-city and ABD.

While pan-city projects can be implemented anywhere in the city, the ABD area includes the corporation's one to fifth divisions in the Fort Kochi area, as well as divisions 62, 67, and 86 in Kochi's central business district. The Rs 166-crore vacuum sewer project in Fort Kochi was proposed under the ABD category.

Following residents' protests, the CSML was forced to abandon the vacuum sewer project, which was supposed to serve the needs of the corporation's five divisions in the Fort Kochi area.

The funds set aside for ABD projects will have to be diverted for pan-city projects while new projects are being designed in place of the vacuum sewer project.

A CSML delegation will soon travel to Delhi to secure the centre's approval for these projects.

Due to a funding shortage, the second phase of the Vyttila mobility hub project was put on hold. The CSML is looking into the possibility of implementing the project's second phase at a cost of around Rs 90 crore. The adjacent Water Metro terminal and Metro station will aid in the convergence of various modes of transportation.

In Kochi, the existing KSRTC bus station is on the verge of collapsing. Despite the government's plans to build a new terminal, a lack of funds is preventing it. The CSML intends to build a new terminal at a cost of approximately Rs 50 crore.

The north-south corridor, a road running parallel to the railway line between the north and south railway stations, is being planned. The corridor will cost Rs 16 crore to build, according to CSML. The corridor will aid in the reduction of traffic congestion on major city roads. For Rs 10 crore, CSML also plans to build a mini-mobility hub at Kaloor bus station.

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