The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) and the Forest Department will sort out the differences over the layout plan and zoning work as part of implementation of the Sabarimala Master Plan, TDB president A. Padmakumar has said.
Talking to The Hindu here on Friday, Mr. Padmakumar said the TDB and Forest Department top brass would meet in Thiruvananthapuram on September 4 to discuss the issues relating to execution of various pilgrim amenity projects at Sabarimala and Pampa.
He said both the stakeholders would try to sort out the differences prior to a meeting to be chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan in Thiruvananthapuram on September 5.
Space constraints
Mr. Padmakumar said space constraints was a major hurdle for taking up various development works at Sabarimala. A joint survey conducted by the TDB and the departments of Forests and Revenue on the directions of the Kerala High Court had found that the land allotted to TDB at Sabarimala was 94.428 acres. However, the Forest Department objected to the survey report saying that the TDB had got only 63 acres.
Advocate Commission appointed by the High Court A.S.P. Kurup had already submitted the survey report to the court, he said.
Sand removal
Though the Cabinet had permitted the TDB to remove 20,000 cubic metres of sand from Pampa where huge quantity of sand accumulated in the deluge of August 2018, the delay in issuing necessary clearance by the Forest Department had ultimately led to washing out of a major portion of the sand in the floods that lashed Pampa a few weeks ago.
The zoning of Sabarimala and finalisation of the layout plan were another bone of contention. The two stakeholders have to reach a consensus on all these issues to facilitate smooth execution of development projects, after making necessary changes or corrections in the master plan.
Mr. Padmakumar said a meeting of the High Power Committee (HPC) for implementation of the master plan held in Kochi on Friday had decided to implement four development works at the Nilackal base camp. He said the HPC meeting decided to accept the layout sketch prepared by the Chennai-based Pithavadiyan and Partners, master plan consultants for Sabarimala development, with minor corrections.
Mr. Padmakumar said the meeting also decided to set up an additional storage facility for 50 lakh litres of water at the Nilackal base camp and to augment accommodation facility for the police and KSRTC personnel on duty at Nilackal, besides increasing the vehicle parking facility before the beginning of the pilgrim season.
