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in conducting traffic surveys to a considerable
extent.
One major issue identified by the Consultative
Committee and the “Smart Kozhikode” initiative
is the huge loss of tax revenue to the Corporation
through the present system of collecting
advertisement tax by appointing a single vendor.
Associated issues like aesthetics of the cityscape
and the impact of hoardings and bill boards on
road safety also were discussed. A sub-committee
is formed with experts from diversified fields like
architecture, traffic planning, law, mass media &
journalism etc to formulate Advertisement Policy
for the City. The Town & Country Planning Office
is represented in the Committee and the office
facilitates the working of the Committee. The
Farook Institute of Management Studies (FIMS)
has consented to carry out the field survey and
analysis part voluntarily. The Policy shall be
ready before the end of year 2017 and can be
implemented during the financial year 2018-19.
The Master Plan for Kozhikode Urban Area
just published contains proposals for creation/
maintenance of two water bodies, one at
Paroppadi and the other at Rahman Bazar. The
lake project at Paroppadi was first suggested by
Sri.Pradeep Kumar, MLA. This was included in
the Master Plan. Meetings were conducted with
the land owners in the area and a preliminary
proposal for development of a fresh water lake
(15 acres for the lake and 5 acres of peripheral
development) for emergency storage of water.
Aquaculture and environmentally responsible
tourism activities are expected to make the
project sustainable. The MLA has made the
proposal to the State Government for taking up.
The water body of Rahman Bazar has a
different story. The area (approximately 60 acres
of land) was used for clay mining by the tile
factories in and around the region. Now, the
area after economically feasible clay mining
to a depth of around 6 m, is a huge rain water
harvesting tank. With the initiative of our office,
the land owners are organised and sensitised to
the tourism potential of the area. The land owners
have come together to undertake the tourism
project in private sector. The MLA of the locality,
Sri.VKC Mammed Koya, Ward Councillor and
the Regional Town & Country Planning Office
is facilitating the project by giving required
technical and managerial advises. A committee of
representatives of the land owners is constituted
to implement the project. The intention of the
intervention in this project is to boost local
economy through the implementation of a project
proposed in the Master Plan for Kozhikode
Urban Area.
Public open spaces reflect the cultural ethos
of a city. Maintenance and up keep of public
open spaces is a civic responsibility and is not
the prerogative of the City Government alone.
So, a project is on the anvil to identify and
maintain public open spaces in the city by public
participation. The details are being worked out
which shall be rolled out during 2017-18, with
the active support of the MLA’s, other peoples’
representatives, local business community,
students and the District Administration. As part
of the proposal to come, the Office has already
undertaken a study titled “Documentation of
Mananchira & its environs” under the plan
scheme for art & heritage during this financial