Kozhikode Corporation Revises Annual Plan; escalator to get near the mofussil bus stop

The proposed escalator will connect the mofussil bus stop with the Mavoor Road–Markaz Complex side. Federal Bank has agreed to contribute ₹6 crore from its corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund for the project. | Photo credit: File Photo

The Kozhikode Corporation has revised its annual plan for 2026-27 to include new projects such as the installation of an escalator across the Mavoor road near the mofussil stand.

The decision was taken at a special meeting of the board held on Monday (October 5) in the wake of the government’s approval of an additional allocation of ₹40.92 crore for spillway projects. Deputy Mayor S. Jayasree presided over the meeting in the absence of Mayor O. Sadasivan.

The council also decided to increase the allocation for day care homes from ₹ 5 lakh to ₹ 30 lakh. The allocation for follow-up activities of the City of Literature project has been increased from ₹ 2 crore to ₹ 5 crore. An allocation of ₹ 45 lakh was also approved for the Samanwaya project.

The meeting briefly turned into a political exchange, Congress councilor KC Shobitha started the discussion. Urging the council to thank the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government for sanctioning around ₹41 crore for the civic body, Standing Committee on Development chairman VP Manoj of the Left Democratic Front (LDF) said the UDF government had reduced the ₹132 crore allocated by the previous LDF government to ₹23 crore.

The now sanctioned ₹ 41 crore, he said, has been provided against ₹ 109 crore which has been reduced. If the additional amount was sanctioned along with the earlier ₹23 crore, delays in implementation of the projects could be avoided, Mr. Manoj said.

He added that the latest allocation will not solve the crisis and that cutting the fund cannot be justified.

Congress councilor SK Aboobacker alleged that the contractors were reluctant to start new works as the corporation was yet to clear the payments for the works done during the tenure of the previous government. He claimed that the civic body owes ₹1,000 crore to the contractors.

Mr. Manoj said the delay in tendering for the new works was not due to any fault on the part of the company but because the projects were not yet approved by the District Planning Committee (DPC).

Deputy Mayor Ms Jayasree said it was unfortunate that a meeting called to amend the annual plan had turned into a political discussion. She said the repeated changes to the plan and delays in getting approval from the DPC were partly due to technicalities, particularly because the plan’s funds were not released in a single instalment.

Published – 05 Oct 2026 20:40 IST