The Hindu : Kerala / Thiruvananthapuram News : Amusement park project hit by uncertainty

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Friday, Feb 04, 2005

Kerala

Kerala - Thiruvananthapuram

Amusement park project hit by uncertainty

By T. Nandakumar

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, FEB. 3. An ambitious project taken up by the City Corporation to construct an amusement park complex near the National Highway bypass at Muttathara has been bogged down for more than a year as the Government is yet to clear the acquisition of 65 acres.

The Revenue department is yet to take up valuation of the land identified for the Rs. 250 crore project. Revenue officials say they are waiting for an order from the Local Self-Government department. The department, however, insists that the detailed project estimate had not been submitted for approval under the Town Planning Scheme.

Threat of litigation

With uncertainty looming over the project, the Corporation also faces the threat of being caught up in a tangle of litigation as landowners seek judicial intervention to bypass the curbs on housing in the project area. Last month, acting on a plea from eight landowners, the High Court issued a verdict directing the local body to issue building licence. The Corporation has decided to appeal against the verdict.

The chairman of the Corporation's standing committee on Development, B. Soman, alleges that land sharks who had bought up large tracts in the area are trying to scuttle the project which was designed to boost the development and tourism potential of the region.

Mr. Soman said an amount of Rs.5 crores had been earmarked for rehabilitation of the families to be displaced for the project. The master plan provides for direct employment for 1,945 people while another 1,345 would get indirect employment. "A major portion of the earmarked land is marshy and uninhabited. Most of the residents in the occupied areas are willing to be relocated," he added.

BOT route

The civic body is planning to invite BOT (Build-Operate-Transfer) bids for the project after securing possession of the land. The proposal which was approved by the Corporation Council in December 2003, envisages the construction of an amusement park, health resort, hotel complex, accommodation facilities, international club, convention centre and commercial complex.

Civic officials said the facility would cater to the tourist inflow in the Kovalam-Veli tourist circuit. The Government is learnt to be toying with the idea of taking up the project under the Theerapatham Urban Development Programme.

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