Jisha Surya
Thiruvananthapuram: The city corporation seems to have learnt no lessons from the past. The year that has gone by was a very eventful one with issues like the forced shutdown of the Vilappilsala garbage treatment plant, city getting the ‘Dengue capital’ title, the ‘Shawarma death’ which triggered a series of food safety issues and a failed monsoon, hogging the limelight.
However, the budget fails to put forward any concrete plan to tackle these issues. It also fails to give thrust to infrastructure development.
A multi-level parking complex, a promise that has remained on paper in the past years, resurfaced in the budget this time too. The amorphous project worth Rs 1 crore is not expected to bring respite to the city’s parking problems. An amount of Rs 50 lakh has been earmarked for an underpass and flyover, the locations of which are unidentified. Renovation of roads gets Rs 50 crore.
Ever since the Vilappilsala agitation became intense, mayor K Chandrika has been emphasizing that a centralized treatment plant was a necessity for a city like Thiruvananthapuram. However, the budget failed to give a viable option for the centralized garbage treatment plant. There was no major proposal for waste management except a Rs 4-crore project for decentralized schemes such as pipe compost and mini biogas plants, which is a continuation of existing project.
It could be said that the corporation was pre-emptive in suggesting Cafe Ananthapuri hotels in 2012, considering the series of food safety issues that occurred last year. But the suggestion remained on papers and made a re-appearance in this year’s budget also. The corporation’s concern for food safety issues were limited to suggestions for mobile Rasika outlets (Rs 25 lakh), the yet-to materialize Cafe Ananthapuri, a ‘fish for health’ scheme (Rs 25 lakh) which envisages mobile units for selling fresh fish and deep freezer facility for selected markets, and a meagre Rs 30,000 to provide training for hotel workers and awards for best hotels.
The Rs 50-lakh ‘Bye bye mosquito’ project plans to designate five Kudumbashree members in each ward for intensive dengue eradication drive. Nothing more than this routine exercise finds a place in the budget for ‘dengue capital’.
At a time when the city is facing an imminent drought, there is no plan in the budget for water supply, rainwater harvesting or drought mitigation schemes. ‘Sujaladhara’, a Rs 1-crore project for supplying drinking water to the Thiruvallam area, that finds a mention in the budget is old wine in new bottle.
Thiruvananthapuram: The city corporation seems to have learnt no lessons from the past. The year that has gone by was a very eventful one with issues like the forced shutdown of the Vilappilsala garbage treatment plant, city getting the ‘Dengue capital’ title, the ‘Shawarma death’ which triggered a series of food safety issues and a failed monsoon, hogging the limelight.
However, the budget fails to put forward any concrete plan to tackle these issues. It also fails to give thrust to infrastructure development.
A multi-level parking complex, a promise that has remained on paper in the past years, resurfaced in the budget this time too. The amorphous project worth Rs 1 crore is not expected to bring respite to the city’s parking problems. An amount of Rs 50 lakh has been earmarked for an underpass and flyover, the locations of which are unidentified. Renovation of roads gets Rs 50 crore.
Ever since the Vilappilsala agitation became intense, mayor K Chandrika has been emphasizing that a centralized treatment plant was a necessity for a city like Thiruvananthapuram. However, the budget failed to give a viable option for the centralized garbage treatment plant. There was no major proposal for waste management except a Rs 4-crore project for decentralized schemes such as pipe compost and mini biogas plants, which is a continuation of existing project.
It could be said that the corporation was pre-emptive in suggesting Cafe Ananthapuri hotels in 2012, considering the series of food safety issues that occurred last year. But the suggestion remained on papers and made a re-appearance in this year’s budget also. The corporation’s concern for food safety issues were limited to suggestions for mobile Rasika outlets (Rs 25 lakh), the yet-to materialize Cafe Ananthapuri, a ‘fish for health’ scheme (Rs 25 lakh) which envisages mobile units for selling fresh fish and deep freezer facility for selected markets, and a meagre Rs 30,000 to provide training for hotel workers and awards for best hotels.
The Rs 50-lakh ‘Bye bye mosquito’ project plans to designate five Kudumbashree members in each ward for intensive dengue eradication drive. Nothing more than this routine exercise finds a place in the budget for ‘dengue capital’.
At a time when the city is facing an imminent drought, there is no plan in the budget for water supply, rainwater harvesting or drought mitigation schemes. ‘Sujaladhara’, a Rs 1-crore project for supplying drinking water to the Thiruvallam area, that finds a mention in the budget is old wine in new bottle.
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