Thiruvananthapuram: The City Corporation Council on Wednesday urged the Government and the Archaeology department to block a move by the Sri Padmanabhaswamy Temple Trust to sell off the Rengavilasam Palace in the Fort heritage zone.

Moving a resolution on the issue, chairman of the standing committee on Welfare P. Rajendra Das said the palace dating back to the Travancore era was a prized archaeological possession.

He said the trust had waged a protracted legal battle to reclaim the palace from the Kerala State Road Transport Corporation.

"The trust had misled the court by stating that the building would be used to provide accommodation facilities for devotees coming to the temple," Mr. Das said.

Expressing strong protest over the move to sell off the property, the resolution called on the Government to check the sale.

Encroachments

Mayor C. Jayan Babu told the council that the corporation would take steps to evict encroachments on its property. Councillors pointed out that land sharks had encroached on corporation land and reclaimed waterbodies at various locations.

The Mayor said the corporation was well within its powers to remove the encroachments on its own, without waiting for the Revenue Department to make a move.

Earlier, moving a resolution on the issue, Poundukadavu ward councillor Veli Varghese said private parties had encroached on land on both banks of the Thettiyar canal and built walls, hindering the flow of water. This, he said, was primarily responsible for the flooding of large tracts of land in Poundukadavu. He said the encroachments were posing a threat to hundreds of families in the region.

The resolution urged the Government and the Water Resources Department to take urgent measures to remove the illegal constructions.

It also called for a restoration project by deepening and widening the canal and constructing sidewalls and footpaths on both banks.

Registration fee

The meeting adopted another resolution urging the Government to revise the registration and renewal fee for private hospitals, tuition centres and technical institutes. Chairman of the standing committee on Town Planning R. Satheeshkumar who moved the resolution said the current fee of Rs.300 for registration and Rs.100 for annual renewal was far too low compared to the income generated by these institutions.

Pointing out that multi-specialty hospitals and clinics with basic facilities were being taxed equally, Mr. Satheeshkumar called for categorising the institutions. He proposed a slab system for registration of private hospitals, based on the number of beds.

"Similarly, there is a need to differentiate between small tuition centres and institutions offering coaching for entrance exams. The slab system for these centres could be based on the number of students and the tuition fees levied from them." Mr. Satheeshkumar also stressed the need to bring all private hospitals and educational coaching centres into the tax net.

The meeting set aside a resolution to approve the draft agreement for a tie-up between the corporation and the London borough of Newham for a ward-level mapping project using GIS (Geographical Information System) technology.

The motion also proposed the nomination of the city-based Centre for Environment and Development as the implementing agency for the project.

Pointing out that the copy of the agreement was not distributed among the councillors, chairman of the standing committee on Taxes and Appeals K. Maheswaran Nair urged the Mayor to set aside the resolution. His demand was conceded.

The council approved the Government proposal to appoint Johnson K. George as the new corporation secretary.

The meeting adopted another resolution moved by Mr. Rajendra Das calling on the Thiruvananthapuram Development Authority to expedite land acquisition for the widening of the Sreekanteswaram junction- Uppidamoodu bridge road and the Kaithamukku-Chambakkada road.

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