Red tape delays Cochin Cancer Research Centre building permit

KOCHI: Even as the Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan is set to lay the foundation stone for the Rs 393-crore Cochin Cancer Research Centre (CCRC) on May 20, a controversy is brewing over sanctioning the building permit by the Kalamassery Municipality for it. A whole lot of issues cropped up with a section clerk at the municipality sitting on the application for building permit submitted by INKEL which is undertaking the construction of the CCRC building. According to Municipal secretary in charge A Sreekumaran, INKEL submitted the application for building permit late on April 25 but the section clerk also sat on the file for sometime complicating the whole thing.

"INKEL authorities had informed me that they personally will come to the Municipality and collect the file and submit it to the District Town Planner (DTP) to speed up the process of securing the building permit. Only after the clearance from the DTP, can the municipality issue the building permit. Since both INKEL and the section clerk have not alerted me, I don't know the position of the file," Mr Sreekumaran told DC on Saturday.

"The moment the controversy over the clearance erupted and the issue came to my attention, I forwarded the file to the DTP and the DTP himself has told me that the file will be cleared by coming Tuesday after which we will issue the building permit before foundation stone laying," said Sreekumaran adding that a showcause notice was given to the section clerk for sitting on the file and her reply has been forwarded to Municipal Chairperson Jessy Peter and a decision is awaited.

Meanwhile Jessy Peter told DC on Saturday that not only the section clerk but the municipal engineer and the secretary-in-charge also are at fault for the delay in processing the CCRC building permit file. "When I personally went to the DPC office on Thursday, I found that despite the controversy erupting, the file had not reached the office of the DPC. I had to intervene immediately to make it happen. I am studying as to how to proceed on action against the officials," Jessy Peter said and added that the DPC has told her also that the file will be cleared by coming Wednesday.