more-in The metro development charge, proposed by the Kochi Corporation along the Kochi metro rail corridor in its annual budget, will be restricted to commercial buildings. The civic body had suggested collecting development charge from commercial as well as residential buildings along the metro route as the transport system is expected to boost business prospects in the region. Rental and land values are also expected to go up along the corridor. Besides this, advertisement rates are expected to fetch a premium near metro stations. The civic body expects to earn an additional revenue of ?5 crore from the scheme. However, the proposal was greeted with opposition from both the ruling front and the Opposition. Replying to the budget debate on Tuesday, Deputy Mayor T.J. Vinod said the residential units along the metro way would be exempted from the special fee. Citing the case of Bengaluru where development charge is levied, Mr. Vinod said the buildings there were also provided additional Floor Area Ratio during construction, which would ensure additional vertical construction. Smart Mission Mayor Soumini Jain announced the formation of a Smart Mission, an initiative for prioritising and monitoring the city development projects for the next 1,000 days. All the Kochi projects, including the ones announced and implemented by the Kochi Corporation and the State and the Central governments, would be monitored for their effective and time-bound implementation, she said. The projects would be classified based on the time required for their completion. The progress would be reviewed regularly and reports would be presented at the council once in six months, she said. The Deputy Mayor was generous in his approach to his fellow councillors in the corporation as he proposed an increase of ?5 lakh to the annual division fund for all the 74 councillors. With the hike, the development fund would be ?65 lakh for each division. The corporation, with the support of various agencies, had re-laid most of its roads with Bitumen Mecadum-Bitumen Cement concrete, which was a durable model of road construction, Mr. Vinod said. The civic body would soon approach the Revenue Department seeking clarification on the land allotted by the State government for the G. Sankara Kurup memorial in the city, he said. The council passed the budget after incorporating the suggestions and corrections made by the councillors.

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