The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led administration’s plan for a grand new building for the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation with a few floors set aside for commercial purposes could run into rough weather with the Opposition parties, which has questioned the sudden announcement without any consultations.
The announcement came out of the blue in the previous council meeting on Friday, which witnessed protests by the Opposition Left Democratic Front (LDF) and United Democratic Front (UDF) over the granting of leave to BJP councillor R. Sugathan, who is currently lodged in Viyyur Central Jail under the Kerala Anti-Social Activities (Prevention) Act (KAAPA). Mayor V.V.Rajesh announced that the proposal was discussed by the Steering Committee and invited a representative of an architects’ consortium to make a presentation.
The proposed building, which was dubbed a “shopping mall” by the Opposition, is to be built after dismantling the existing structure located in a 2.6 acre plot at Palayam. With a total built up area of 6 lakh square feet, a couple of basement floors are to be set aside for parking. The most contentious proposal is regarding 2-3 floors which are to be set aside for commercial purposes for revenue generation. The existing council hall to seat 101 councillors will be expanded to include 200 seats.
