Demand for rezoning Thanthonni Thuruthu comes up during public hearing on Kochi master plan
The Hindu
Residents of Thanthonni Thuruth, an island close to Kochi, demanded rezoning of the area as residential-cum-commercial zone at a public hearing on the draft master plan of Kochi Corporation. Private owners of holdings in the island requested for reclassification of the island to construct housing units and commercial buildings.
A demand for rezoning Thanthonni Thuruth, an island located close to Kochi city in the backwaters, as a residential-cum-commercial zone was raised by residents of the area on Friday.
The demand came up at a public hearing on the draft master plan of the Kochi Corporation.
At present, the island is included in different zones, especially conservation, residential and dry agriculture zones. Most holdings in the island are owned by private individuals. There are a few patches of wetland and mangrove vegetation on the island besides several houses.
The owners of the holdings demanded that the island be reclassified as commercial and residential zones so that more housing units and commercial buildings can be constructed there. The residents had earlier submitted the suggestions in response to the draft master plan document, which was published by the civic body. As many as 153 suggestions were received.
The public hearing was attended by 121 persons who had earlier filed their objections and suggestions for the vision document. Most complaints pertained to the alleged wrong zonation of individual holdings. Though a few project proposals too came up at the meeting, they were not considered. The suggestions that came up at the public meeting will be reviewed by the master plan committee.
The civic authorities will hold discussions with various professional organisations, including those of architects and builders, in the coming days. Separate discussions will be held with people’s representatives before firming up the final document. The Corporation council also needs to endorse the final document.
Mayor M. Anilkumar, town standing committee chairperson J. Sanilmon, development standing committee chairperson P.R. Renish, Regional Town Planner Niksi Thomas, urban planner of AMRUT projects A.K. Santhosh, and Kochi Corporation superintending engineer K.N. Bijoy were among those present.
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