Wednesday, December 11, 2013: India is going big with its solar plan! If everything go as planned, Kochi will become the first solar city in the state. However, there is a small glitch. The Opposition of the Kochi Corporation is of the opinion that more clarity is needed regarding the project and its feasibility, reported New Indian Express.
Opposition councillor showed displeasure over the Corporation Town Planning Committee for not providing adequate data to the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives (ICLEI). The former was given the responsibility of preparing the Detailed Project Report (DPR) of the project.
Opposition councillor M P Maheshkumar said, “The first meeting of the stakeholders of the Solar City project was held in Kochi last month. The draft of the DPR was presented before the stakeholders. But, during the presentation, we noticed that some data provided to ICLEI were inaccurate. For instance, it was mentioned that 80 per cent of the shops in Kochi were using LED lights. Similarly, the info provided by the Town Planning Committee said there was a crematorium in Kochi that uses solar energy. These are all false.”
While the presentation was meant for the entire councillors, only 16 or 17 were present. “The DPR has to be approved by the Council. With a majority of them not participating in the stake holders meet, how can they approve it. And regarding the presentation, it lacked clarity on certain elements like servicing, guarantee, the providers and sectors where the project should be implemented first,” he added.
Commenting on these, K J Sohan, Kochi Corporation Town Planning Committee chairman said the allegations were baseless.
“As per the guidelines put forward by the Centre, we have formed the core committee and a stake holder committee for the project. As per the decision taken by the Council, we have entrusted ICLEI with the DPR preparation. The draft of the DPR was presented before the stakeholders and if the Opposition councillors needed any clarification, they could have cleared it at the time of presentation itself. And, personally, I believe that the agency have come up with a comprehensive draft,” he added.
