The Tirunelveli Smart City Special Purpose Vehicle, which has been entrusted with the assignment of executing projects selected under Union Government-funded ‘Smart City’ program, has identified 19 more development works under this project to be executed at the cost of ₹ 310.64 crore to be implemented in Tirunelveli and Palayamkottai in addition to the projects already approved by the Smart City Board of Directors.

If the project, to be placed before the Smart City Board of Directors’ next meeting for its mandatory approval, is sanctioned, the twin towns of Tirunelveli and Palayakottai will get development works on a total outlay of ₹ 990 crore under the ‘Smart City’ program.

As the Tirunelveli Corporation, which got omitted in the first list of cities selected for the ‘Smart City’ program and subsequently managed to find a place in the second list owing to the progress it showed, has started the work on the reconstruction of the Tirunelveli Junction bus stand at the cots of ₹ 79 crore and has created the truck terminal at Pettai to park the heavy vehicles coming to the city to with consignments from various destinations. Physical work on the Trade Centre, to be built at the cost of ₹ 56.71 crore similar to the one at Codissia in Coimbatore, is likely to commence within a month.

The second and third phases of the underground drainage scheme, following the first phase completed at the cost of ₹ 52.26 crore, are being executed on an outlay of ₹ 490 crore to extend the scheme to the hitherto uncovered areas. Apart from this, new roads, solar lights, LED street lights etc are to be installed.

“The 58 million litres per day sewage treatment plant, adopting sequential batch reactor method, will be established at Ramaiyanpatti compost yard on an outlay of ₹ 60 crore. The VOC Stadium is to be modernized at the cost of ₹ 22 crore and multi-level car parking will come-up on the Vaeinthaankulam new bus-stand premises at the cost of ₹ 14 crore,” said Chief Executive Officer of Tirunelveli Smart City Special Purpose Vehicle V. Narayanan Nair.

He said that work on the proposed Trade Centre at Exhibition Grounds, which got delayed following the shifting of temporary bus stand to this place, would commence shortly. “While the State Government’s audit office functioning in the small commercial complex at the entrance of the Exhibition Grounds is to be shifted to the Corporation administrative office premises, notices have already been issued to the tenants running various business establishments there. Moreover, the exit point of the buses from the temporary bus stand is to be shifted to another point to facilitate the Trade Centre work,” Dr. Nair said.