Thiruvananthapuram: Airport map to be of layman's help

Thiruvananthapuram: There is good news for those on the border of the red zo-ne demarcated in Thiruvan-anthapuram Airport’s colo-ur-coded zoning map (CCZM). Town Planning Department is about to work with the corporation to develop a map with accurate survey numbers in each zone. “We had asked the Airport authorities to provide us with a CCZM on which the cadastral map is superimposed, but they had not responded. Now we are in talks with the Town Planning Department to make this happen,” said Mayor V.K. Prasanth.   

This will be useful to those who are not sure whether their plot is inside or outside the red zone. Corpora-tion officials say that many poor people will be saved from spending hefty amou-nts as part of applying for a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from Airport Autho-rity of India.

 “The agencies, which are authorised by Airport Authority of India to prepare these applications, take more than '7000 for preparing these applications. We hear that few ended up paying '15000. This is not affordable to someone who owns a small plot. If it is clear that they are well outside the red zone, they won’t have to go for NOC at all,” said an official.

The new initiative will provide the common man with a map they can understand. They will be able to tell which zone their plot lies in, something which was not possible with the CCZM which only has latitude and longitudes marked. Officials say that more than a thousand people could benefit from this.

However, digitally superimposing the cadastral map over the colour-coded map is but the least time consuming part of the process, according to an official at Town Planning Department. “A field-level verification is of utmost importance, to make sure that the digitally superimposed map is accurate,” he said. The Corporation is planning to put together a team to carry out the field level work.