Workshop on draft master plan

A one-day workshop to discuss the draft master plan for the capital will be held at Kanakakkunnu Palace Hall here on Tuesday from 10 am. The master plan was published on March 19 this year and the City Corporation had released the notification on April 8. The 60 days allocated as per the Town Plan Act to compile the suggestions and complaints is getting over by June 6.

 According to the master plan, to be realised by 2031, the city gets divided into four zones, namely city core, central city, outer city and city periphery. In the first zone, priority is given for public and semi-public use, followed by commercial development and residential development in the second and third places.

 The central city is considered as the area suitable for the extension of the commercial area in the core, taking into account the comparatively low population density and built-up intensity. Hence, developments under public and semi-public, commercial and residential sectors will get equal priority.

 The availability of vacant land in the outer city can be expected to cater to the future residential demand of the city. The periphery area comprising dry agriculture will be retained as it is.

The master plan aims to enrich the greenery of the city. Seven parks are suggested, in addition to the existing ones. A traffic network to avoid the traffic congestion in the city centre is included. By relocating the Central Jail at Poojappura to Chenkottukonam, the plan is to maintain the jail at Poojappura as a heritage structure.

 Protecting the natural drainage arrangements - Karamana and Killi rivers, Pattom, Ulloor and Amayizhanjan canals and Akkulam, Parvathy Puthanar and Vellayani lakes; green zone; green belt; and water retention areas in the low-lying areas are among the suggestions. When some areas in the green zone of the previous master plan are suggested for other developments, it is directed that planned drainage facilities must be set up for its implementation. When land is given for development through this land-pooling scheme, 10 per cent will be set aside for financially backward families.

 Two city centres at Kazhakkoottam and Vizhinjam are envisaged. There is a suggestion for the development of Medical College by shifting the Regional Cancer Centre and Sri Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology to Chenkottukonam.

 In the Kazhakkoottam-Chenkottukonam region, a Court Complex to include a High Court bench in future is planned. Bringing together road, rail, air and waterways is planned for a mobility hub in Akkulam. Considering the development associated with the Vizhinjam port, a logistic centre is planned there.

 By processing a good portion of the organic waste generated at the source-level itself, a recommendation is there to process it at community-level in the markets. Facilities to process non-biodegradable and e-waste are also proposed.

 Tuesday’s workshop will be inaugurated by Urban Affairs Minister Manjalamkuzhi Ali. Mayor K Chandrika will preside over. Union Minister of State for Human Resource Development Shashi Tharoor, Health Minister V S Sivakumar and MLAs V Sivankutty, K Muraleedharan, Jameela Prakasam and M A Vahid will be present. People’s representatives, engineers, builders, architects, traders, industrialists, representatives of various organisations and experts are invited.

Land Use

* The proposed land use falls under three major heads and they are further divided into sub-categories:

* Built-up zone: Expecting built-up development.

* Green zones: Conserved from the environment point of view; not meant for extensive built-up development.

* Special zones: For specific development projects.