A 50-day action plan prioritising various issues of the Kochi Corporation, prepared in consultation with experts, will be implemented ahead of the Assembly elections, Mayor V.K. Minimol has announced.
Ms. Minimol outlined her priorities and vision for Kochi city, while her deputy Deepak Joy emphasised strengthening the financial capacity of the Kochi Corporation by mobilising resources effectively and preventing leakages as their first major objective. This was shared during their maiden ‘meet-the-press’ organised by the Ernakulam Press Club on Monday (December 29, 2025).
The Mayor said the proposed action plan will not focus on any single issue but will aim at finding solutions to multiple challenges, including waterlogging, waste management, mosquito eradication, and stray dog menace.
Making Kochi a clean city is a priority. While previous councils have made progress in waste management, the problem remains far from resolved. The details of the action plan will be published shortly.
Consultations have been held with the BPCL (which funds the project), which confirmed that while the compressed biogas plant at Brahmapuram is fully set and trial runs have been held, road works remain incomplete. Changes to the master plan for Brahmapuram, initiated during the previous council, will be updated to reflect current needs. Brahmapuram should provide affordable waste management facilities to neighbouring panchayats, as their problems often spill over to the Corporation. Issues regarding the disposal of biomedical waste have also come to our attention. We will visit Brahmapuram shortly and give a comprehensive update, the Mayor and the Deputy Mayor said.
Lack of proper maintenance and availability of land are the main obstacles to establishing public toilets. The feasibility of an agreement entered into by the previous council with an agency for setting up around 20 public toilets will be reviewed. Setting up public toilets will be a top priority for the present council, with appropriate locations and land identified for the purpose.
They said the United Democratic Front (UDF) has supported Samridhi@Kochi even while being in Opposition and will continue to back the project. However, it will be made more transparent and brought under audit since Corporation funds are involved. At present, it is unclear whether the project is running at a profit or loss. Currently, only meals are subsidised, while other items are priced similarly to those in regular hotels. Necessary changes will be introduced to make the initiative more affordable for the public.
The Corporation’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) policy will be strictly followed, with necessary updates to suit modern requirements. CSR-funded projects have increased under successive councils. During the previous council too, many projects were funded through CSR contributions. However, there is no clarity on how much funding was received, how much was utilised, and why the balance is reported as zero. Direct CSR funding will not be encouraged, they said.