Kochi: The Kerala high court directive to the Kochi corporation asking them to maintain status quo with regard to commercial establishments in Panampilly Nagar has come as a relief to shop and small business owners in the area.

The order issued on March 30, 2017, was based on a petition challenging an earlier single bench directive which asked the civic body to close down all the shops in Panampilly Nagar, which is a residential zone, on or before March 31, 2017.

The court order to maintain status quo in the case has brought relief to around 700 shopowners in the area. “This is an interim relief. We expect an order from the government notifying the area a residential-cum-commercial zone by the time,” said Biju C Vallavanadan, secretary, Panampilly Nagar association of commercial establishments and residents (PACE). “Most of the 700 shops in the area are run by women entrepreneurs,” he said.

The town planning department has completed a re-survey which explored the possibilities of converting Panampilly Nagar to a mixed zone. Earlier, the Kochi corporation had unanimously passed a resolution demanding that the area be converted in to residential-cum-commercial zone. The state government asked the town planning department to conduct a resurvey based on this.

Majority of residents in an opinion poll had aired the view that the area should be changed to a mixed zone.

As per the new Town and Country Planning Act introduced in 2016 the status of each area should be revised at least once in 10 years, but the status of Panampilly Nagar, which was declared residential area in 1969 had not been revised since then.

It is learnt that the report by the town planning department is in favour of modifying the status of the area after considering the changes in the area over the years. If the state government approves the draft report, they will publish a draft notification marking the area as a mixed zone. The residents and public can submit their suggestions and complaints once the notification is issued. The department will prepare the final notification after considering the suggestions and complaints by the residents. If there is no valid reason for not declaring the area as residential-cum-commercial area, the department will issue the final notification which is subject to approval by the state government.

Source: Times of India