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Renovation of two police stations getting delayed

Staff Reporter

Police and PWD blame each other

LONG WAIT: Renovation of Palarivattom Police Station building has been delayed. — Photo: Mahesh Harilal

KOCHI: Renovation of two police stations in the city have been caught in a blame game involving the police and the Public Works Department (PWD).

The police station functioning at Palarivattom Junction was shifted to two rooms at Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium last October. The Cheranalloor Police Station was shifted to a residential building nearby. Both the stations now have no lock-ups. Policemen at the Cheranalloor station complain that files are getting damaged in rain, as the building is not maintained properly.

In both the cases, the high upset value fixed by the Public Works Department is blocking the renovation work. For Palarivattom Police Station, the upset value fixed was Rs. 63,190, while the auction could fetch only Rs. 17,600. The price was originally fixed at Rs.1 lakh and it was brought down later.

The upset value for Cheranalloor police station was fixed at Rs. 25,000 and even three auctions could fetch only Rs.18,000. As it is with the Palarivattom police station, nothing much remains in the building to be demolished at Cheranalloor. Chances of getting higher prices have come down considerably, policemen point out.

A senior PWD official said that this is a common development during renovation of government buildings. The department fixes upset values based on certain parameters such as the plinth area of the building and depreciations, if required. If three consecutive auctions did not fetch the declared price, the department that owns the building could finalise the work at the auctioned price, he said.

Earlier, the PWD used to demolish the building and then construct the new ones. At present, the Kerala Police Housing Construction Corporation has taken over the construction part.

Police officials complain that this has resulted in the PWD putting up hurdles in the work. On their part, the City Police are actively following up the case of these police stations. "A liaison officer has been sent to present the case to the State Government," said P. Vijayan, City Police Commissioner.

The case was forwarded to the Police Headquarters and from there to the State Government. With the decision kept pending at Government level, the police stations continue to work from temporary premises.

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