Kerala - Kochi   

Corporation donates organic manure to Kanjikuzhi panchayat

KOCHI: There is no dearth for funds, but the civic bodies should come up with innovative developmental projects. The civic bodies can thus convert the present economic meltdown to an opportunity, said T.M. Thomas Isaac, Minister for Finance.

He was speaking at a function organised by the Corporation at the Council hall here to hand over a load of organic manure, produced at the Solid Waste Treatment Plant at Brahmapuram and branded as Jaivasri, to representatives of Kanjikuzhi Panchayat in Cherthala, famous for organic vegetable farming.

Due to the conservative approach towards governance, the hands of the State government are tied up. It can take loan of a maximum of Rs.700-800 crore, which is almost equal to the deficit caused in the stamp duty waiver. However, the local bodies can avail of loans from the Kerala Local Government Development Fund, to be set up soon, provided they come up with good business models, Dr. Isaac said. He was responding to the request placed by the Corporation for assistance from the State government for land acquisition required for various development projects.

The expected cost for acquiring land comes to around Rs.265 crore. Steps like land acquisition should be done with a futuristic vision.

More land should be acquired than what is required so that it could be developed and used for meeting the shortage of funds, Dr. Isaac said. Even though enough money is available with banks, they tend to have liquidity preference in the present condition. But the local bodies should make use of funds available under Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project (KSUDP) or through public sector bonds.

This is the right time for taking up sustainable development projects.

By taking up projects in sectors like tourism, we can be ready for meeting the requirements when the situation stabilises in a couple of years and also generate jobs at present. The State did not have a metropolitan city-oriented development history.

It is for the first time a city in the State is emerging as a metro. Almost half of the development projects in pipeline are meant for Kochi.

If any of these projects fail to take off due to lack of infrastructure, not just the city loses out, but the whole State does, the Minister said.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Opportunities galore in Ernakulam district: study
Meet on child protection
DP(Administration)takes charge
State Budget to focus on food security, infrastructure, welfare measures
Temple festival from January 9
Mammootty on the Net
Corporation donates organic manure to Kanjikuzhi panchayat
‘Public participation needed for Clean City campaign’
Kochi Today

Copyright © 2009, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu