KOCHI: The paper work for releasing money for landholders who have agreed to sell their land to the Kochi Corporation for the Brahmapuram Solid Waste Treatment Plant will begin this week as the State Empowered Committee for Fast Track Projects has cleared the price fixed for the land.

Hurdles cleared

The empowered committee, which met at Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, approved the 30 per cent hike in land value as suggested by the Kochi Corporation. With the approval of the committee, all hurdles before the civic body in fulfilling its long-cherished dream of setting up a modern waste treatment plant have been cleared.

The disbursal of the land value will start after the Onam holidays. "The task before the corporation is to take possession of the land after the payment of the land value to the landowners," Kochi Mayor Mercy Williams said.

According to Deputy Mayor C.K. Manisankar, directions have been issued to corporation officials to begin the paperwork on Saturday, which is the only working day in this week. The civic authorities are hopeful of starting the disbursal of land value from next week.

Work to begin

The work for setting up the plant would begin three months after handing over the land to Andhra Pradesh Technologies Corporation, which won the contract for setting up the plant.

The first instalment of the Rs.12-crore fund, which has been raised from the HUDCO, had reached the civic body in August itself.

The fund was released anticipating the clearance from the Empowered Committee last month.

As the empowered committee has approved the 30 per cent hike in the land value, there is no further scope for further hike in the value.

"The civic authorities are hopeful that the landowners will hand over the land for the price fixed by the authorities. There is no further scope for negotiating the price and if anyone demands more money, the civic authorities will have to go in for land acquisition," Mr. Manisankar said.

"If the land is acquired, the landowners will be getting a value much lower than what has been fixed," Ms. Williams said.

After the news of the empowered committee clearing the Brahmapuram land deal, the day saw the corporation council putting its stamp of approval on the City Development Plan, which was prepared for the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.

Mercy Williams, Kochi Mayor, had expressed her happiness about the twin developments that would positively influence the development activities in the city for years to come.

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