THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The much-hyped mini-township project proposed at Vilappilsala by the city corporation is set to be shelved due to disputes between the councillors of the governing council and financial constraints. The works related to the Rs 400 crore project, planned at the old waste treatment plant, came to a standstill earlier this year. Although earlier, the corporation officials expressed hope that the project could be revived, the chances are slim.
Since the corporation has many projects yet to be implemented within its limits, they are sceptical about investing money in a project in a panchayat. The township was envisaged to revitalise Vilappilsala, which was once in the news for all the wrong reasons.
“It is true that the township project is on hold. As of now, the corporation has no plans to continue the work. However, it can be revived any time, if everything goes well,” mayor Arya Rajendran told TOI.
A source close to the project said that the corporation has only a year of governance left, and hence it is difficult to reach a consensus between the councillors and to obtain funds for the project.
The project was stopped after the civic body invited a tender, and now the tender has also become invalid. Last year chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan had conducted a foundation stone laying ceremony for the first phase of work. So far, only the compound walls work, ground clearing, and internal road networks of the township have been completed.
As it is a massive project, each module in the township needed to be tendered separately. Earlier, the corporation had invited expressions of interest (EOI) from structural consulting firms or independent consultants to design the first phase of the township project. Four companies came forward, and one of them was selected as a consultant for the project. After some rounds of discussions, the corporation approved the proposed design.
As per the proposal, the 36-acre township will have five towers, 11 multi-storey residential apartments to accommodate 500 people as part of the LIFE Mission, a convention centre with rest houses, a residential training centre, a warehouse, a vehicle yard, a stray dog rehabilitation centre, cattle shed, and a pond. The township would also have an indoor games avenue and residential facilities for a technological university.
The corporation had also planned to create an urban forest with fruit-bearing trees and medicinal herbs. The corporation also had plans to rent out the convention centre for weddings.
The residential facility for LIFE Mission beneficiaries was also planned in a location where the residents would have privacy. Notably, in 2017, an amusement park was planned here. However, it was later dropped.
