Vendors keeping their fingers crossed

KOCHI: With the issue of the rehabilitation of the vendors who will be evacuated in connection with the renovation of the North rail overbridge (RoB) hotting up, it is high time  the Kochi Corporation looked into some emergency measures to solve the problem. Though there was a plan to rehabilitate them at the shops under the Pulleppady RoB to be built by the Kerala Roads and Bridges Development Corporation (RBDCK), it is yet to materialise. The RBDCK authorities said they have already applied to the corporation for the building permit. “It was in January 2011 that the RBDCK submitted the detailed project plan to construct the shops under the Pulleppady bridge to the corporation. But we are yet to get the building permit without which the construction cannot be started,” RBDCK managing director M Beena said.She said that as per the original plan, an 8,066 sq ft building will be constructed under the bridge, which will be partitioned later as per the requirements. The total cost of the project is estimated at `68 lakh. “Once the building permit is issued, the RBDCK will be able to start the work and complete it in a time-bound manner. The actual time of the contract is six months but we hope the work can be completed in four months,” Beena added.Meanwhile, Kochi Corporation secretary Ajit Patil said the corporation’s Town Planning department had already moved the proposal to the Chief Town Planner’s office. “We need the sanction from the Chief Town Planner (CTP) and cannot issue the permit directly from here. After the initial assessment, the CTP told us that since his department has its own restrictions in connection with the area requirement of the project, they will have to obtain a government-level sanction,” he said.Patil said that considering the emergency of the situation, the civic body was trying to get the government nod as early as possible. “We are pursuing the issue closely and are in constant touch with the state government to get the necessary clearance. But even if we get the necessary sanction, it will take a minimum of five to six months for the RBDCK to complete the construction work,” he added.Meanwhile, the corporation council on Monday decided to temporarily rehabilitate the vendors. It has been decided that the vendors will be temporarily rehabilitated at the land owned by the corporation on Paramara Road where the Mythri Auditorium once stood.