An urban master plan for Aluva municipality will be drawn up by March next with British aid.

The document will be prepared with the support of a British agency, Atkins. The British government will meet the expenses for preparing the document, Bharat Joshi, British Deputy High Commission, Chennai, said.

The civic representatives of Aluva and experts from various sectors had convened a two-day workshop at Kochi to finalise priority areas. The workshop was part of a project supported by the British High Commission to help Aluva minimise climate risks.

The Aluva project will address “long-term climate impacts and minimise short-term impacts of unplanned development, with an urban design framework. It will combine local city knowledge and international expertise to establish a framework to guide growth in an integrated manner to respond to the challenges of urbanisation, climate risks and impact on existing and future local communities,” according to the organisers.

Besides, the Aluva Municipal chairman M.T. Jacob and councillor Jebi Mather, Gregory Briffa, First Secretary, British High Commission, New Delhi and Roger Savage, director, Atkins, UK, were also present. Civic issues related to waste management, “uncontrolled development, general pollution, transportation and connectivity, inadequate water drainage system and the need to improve public spaces” were discussed. Deliberations on mitigating pollution of Periyar were also held.

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Kochi / by  K.S. Sudhi / Kochi – November 14th, 2014