Calicut Development Authority (CDA)

KOZHIKODE: The State Government is likely to wind up the Calicut Development Authority (CDA) by the end of this fiscal.

Sources in the CDA said the officials have informed the staff that the government is no more interested in keeping the CDA alive as the ‘development authority has stood against the development of the city’ and will wind it up by March 31.

Sources said the redeployment of staff will be discussed in the coming days. The staff are likely to be deployed in city Corporation, though a huge disparity exists between grades and promotions of the CDA and Corporation employees.

But the closure move will leave many questions on the future of ongoing CDA projects unanswered. According to experts, handing over of town planning to Corporation will slowdown the development activities, since Corporation has to put extra effort to implement the Master Plan covering 55 electroral wards.

The CDA is a statutory establishment formed under Madras Town Planning Act 1920 by the government in 1980 to prepare and implement general as well as detailed town planning schemes for Corporation and 11 panchayats.

Later, Peruvayal panchayat got bifurcated and the number of panchayats increased to 12 viz. Elathur, Kuruvattoor, Kakkodi, Kunnamangalam, Peruvayal, Perumanna, Olavanna, Cheruvannur-Nallalm, Beypore, Feroke, Kadalundi and Ramanattukara.

The move to wind up CDA began in 1996, when Paloli Muhammedkutty held the portfolio of Local Administration, following the findings of Sen Commission.

The commission recommended to the respective State Governments to wind up all the development authorities and give town planning to local bodies. Four years later, the government redeployed about 20 staff of the planning wing of the CDA to the Corporation.

Once the government wound up CDA, its properties will be automatically come under the control of the Corporation.

Source