DTPC to source CSR funds to restore Fort Kochi beach
Industrialist Sabu M. Jacob on Wednesday said the purchase of electoral bonds by his company was in accordance with the existing laws in the country. He clarified that he had not accepted any favour from any government over it.
Mr. Jacob, who is also the chief coordinator of Twenty20, said his company was not among those institutions that had made contributions to political parties to indulge in corruption. He has been at loggerheads with the CPI (M) for some time, and his justification on the purchase of electoral bonds comes amid reports that rival parties would raise the matter against Twenty20 in the runup to the Lok Sabha polls.
Mr. Jacob also said he would put an end to all activities of Twenty20, if it was found that he had accepted any illegal favour from any State government or the Centre. He admitted that the apparel major Kitex Group, owned by him, had bought electoral bonds but did not divulge further details, saying the issue was pending before the Supreme Court.
With the world famous Fort Kochi beach and the walkway that runs along it crying for upkeep, tourism stakeholders are banking on corporate social responsibility (CSR) funds to restore the beach that saw the footprints of all the three colonial powers and traders from afar over the past centuries.
The district tourism promotion councils (DTPCs) had been vested with the task of sourcing CSR funds in order to improve tourism infrastructure in various locales. Based on this, the Ernakulam DTPC is executing urgent repair and restoration of the Folklore Cultural Theatre in Fort Kochi, using ₹10 lakh CSR fund of Cochin Shipyard Limited. The work is in its last leg.
Such funds could similarly be sourced from other PSUs as well, to tidy Fort Kochi and other beaches that woo tourists in large numbers to Ernakulam district, tourism sources said.
A ₹5crore project of the DTPC to renovate/restore popular beaches like Fort Kochi, Kuzhuppilly, Cherai, and Munambam had to be wound up following objections raised over the alleged violation of coastal regulation zone (CRZ) norms. Subsequently, the agency submitted a revised ₹3.50crore project report, for which funds are expected to be allotted in the forthcoming fiscal. The CSR funds would be a value addition and would help develop more tourism infrastructure, they added.
Tourists, hospitality stakeholders, and agencies like the DTPC and Fort Kochi Heritage Conservation Society had been citing the need for a master plan to contain sea erosion and to make available touristfriendly infrastructure like payanduse toilets at the Fort Kochi beach and the heritage zone.
This would help source CSR funds to implement proposals like the one to landscape either side of the Fort Kochi beach walkway to prevent littering and encroachments and to replace damaged lamp posts, benches, and dust bins on the walkway. Although Cochin Smart Mission Limited (CSML) was to help in this regard, sources in the agency said its help had not been sought.
Faced with fund paucity, cumbersome procedures and slack interdepartmental coordination delaying projects, Kerala Tourism had announced in 2023 that it could seek help from public sector units (PSUs) and private players to restore heritage locales like Fort Kochi to their past glory. This was after hospitality and other stakeholders expressed concern at the steady drop in the number of foreign tourists visiting Fort Kochi owing to shoddy and inadequate infrastructure.