Greater Cochin Development Authority restarts construction of Chilavanoor Bund Road

KOCHI: Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) authorities relaunched the construction of Chilavannoor Bund Road at Sastri Nagar on Saturday. The authority said that the road would be open to traffic by the end of December 2014. Twenty-five years have passed since GCDA initiated the construction of the road that linked Thevara and Chambakkara bridge.Though GCDA could finish some work initially, nothing has been done over the past 20 years.
Chairman N Venugopal said the government had asked them to take up the construction activities based on the decisions taken by the executive council. The state government's stipulation that GCDA can provide only 70 cents in lieu of the 100 cents that would be acquired had delayed the execution of the project.
GCDA's general council took up the issue and requested the government to provide an exemption to compensate landowners who own up to five cents. This move had ensured that the road construction works began again.
In lieu of the land taken over for the construction of the road, the development authority has agreed to provide equivalent land to owners. "Many private agencies have approached GCDA with an offer to construct houses for the four families in Chilavannoor region," said Venugopal. It is estimated that GCDA will have to spend Rs 1 crore for building the portion of the road from Sastri Nagar to KP Vallon Road.
The Chilavannoor Bund Road will have a width of 15 metres and there will be drains on both sides. It begins from Thevara and then proceeds to Sastri Nagar, KP Vallon Road, and Chilavannoor to reach Chambakkara.
So far GCDA had taken over 91 cents and needs to acquire 70 more cents. "The authority will soon complete the process of taking over the remaining land. GCDA has identified plots that would be given to landowners. Financial support from state government will be required to carry out road tarring," he said.