Kerala - Kochi   

Council approves report for JNNURM project

Kochi: An emergency meeting of the Kochi Corporation Council held here on Saturday approved the detailed project report (DPR) to be submitted to the Union Ministry for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, even as the Opposition staged a walkout.

The Opposition was complaining that the DPR was not discussed in the council before sending it for technical approval from agencies like the Kudumbasree Mission and HUDCO.

Mayor Mercy Williams said the DPR for availing of funds for the second phase of the Basic Services for Urban Poor under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) covered colonies in the Corporation as well as Thripunithura and Kalamassery municipalities. The DPR was for schemes totalling Rs.146.50 crore.

Leader of the Opposition A.B. Sabu said the steering committee had not met even once or discussed the project. Development standing committee chairman K.J. Sohan said prioritising of projects was not proper in the DPR.

In reply to the issue raised by councillor T.J. Vinod that this was a continuation of the projects prepared for last year, Ms. Williams admitted that there had been a lapse on the part of officials in alerting about the mid-term appraisal being done on the JNNURM. She said the DPR was prepared in a hurry, as the deadline for submitting it was October 31.

Walking out of the council meeting, the Opposition members said they would lodge a complaint with the Union Ministry.

The Mayor told the council that a three-member delegation would be formed to present the DPR at the Ministry. The DPR was prepared by the consulting agency, C-Earth, at a fee of Rs.7.87 lakh.

Earlier, the council approved suggestions made by a combined meeting of the standing committees for health, education and development on purchase of vehicles and equipment for the first phase of the solid waste management programme using financial aid from the Asian Development Bank. The estimate is Rs.4.36 crore.

Initiating discussion on this, Mr. Sabu said the civic body was already short of hands and the situation would worsen with purchasing new vehicles. The purchase should be made only after preparing the infrastructure required like proper parking space and workshops.

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