The emphasis given in the State Budget to usher in seamless ‘Green Mobility’ in Kochi has been welcomed by stakeholders even as uncertainty looms over funding for the long-overdue development of Thammanam-Pullepady Road and Seaport-Airport Road in order to decongest the city.
Speaking of the Kochi Green Mobility Zone in his Budget speech, Finance Minister Thomas Isaac referred to the Union Urban Development Ministry recently giving an award to Kochi’s seamless-mobility project (for arraying around 1,000 private buses under seven companies and for a unified prepaid card for Kochi Metro, buses, and water transport). “An eco-friendly and integrated urban transport system will thus evolve in Kochi,” he said, referring to infra projects totalling ₹6,000 crore for the region, which include roads and overbridges.
The projects to be implemented in 2020 include Kochi Metro’s Infopark and Tripunithura extensions, which entail expenditure worth ₹3,025 crore. The 76-km integrated ‘Water Metro’ project in which 78 modern ferries would operate in 16 routes in the Greater-Kochi area, linking 38 jetties would incur expenditure worth ₹682 crore. Solar boats for the State Water Transport Department (SWTD) too found mention, what with the department operating Aditya, India’s first solar-powered ferry, in the Vaikom-Thavanakadavu route.
A sum of ₹26 crore has been set apart in the Budget for augmenting the department’s solar and conventional-ferry fleet in Kochi and Alappuzha. “We intend to launch two or three solar ferries such as Aditya, since they do not cause air or noise pollution. They also have rock-bottom operational cost,” said Shaji V. Nair, Director of SWTD. Yet another plan is to launch an electric roll in-roll out (RoRo) vessel, to ferry containers from Kochi Port to Bolghatty Island, he added.
The Budget has allocated ₹2.5 crore for Kochi Metropolitan Transport Authority, which would supervise seamless inter-modal integration of different commuting modes. Responding to funds allocated for the Kochi Metro, KMRL managing director Alkesh Kumar Sarma said the Thykoodam-Petta extension would be commissioned in March.
“Construction of the Petta-SN Junction stretch is fast progressing. KMRL had catalysed introduction of e-autos in Kerala, in line with the government’s commitment for green and electric mobility.”
The Budget has set apart ₹1 crore as the government’s share in the ₹12-crore project to rejuvenate the Ernakulam Public Library. “The rest of the money will be raised from CSR funds, MP/MLA (constituency) funds, and public contributions,” said V.K. Prasad, treasurer of the library.
According to the plan, a new building will be built on 20 cents of land behind the existing one. Meanwhile, V.D, Satheeshan, MLA, said the budget lacked credibility since the same projects announced last year or projects which got administrative sanction during the UDF regime and whose work was under way were portrayed as fresh ones.
Moreover, the Finance minister was unable to cite the funding source of many projects.
