THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Constituted by the state government in December 2023, the Urban Policy Commission (UPC) has submitted its final report to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan wherein it has recommended a slew of measures, including setting up of city-specific hubs to exploit local potential and preparation of a road map for urbanisation by addressing all concerns. The report calls for developing Thrissur-Kochi as the financial technology (fintech) hub of the state. It also proposes growing Palakkad and Kasaragod as industrial smart cities and the Thiruvananthapuram-Kollam knowledge corridor, to foster research and innovation.
Kannur must be promoted as a fashion city, while Kannur-Kasaragod and Thrissur-Ernakulam should be leveraged as education-health hubs, the report said, calling for branding Kozhikode as the ‘City of Literature,’ drawing on its rich literary heritage.Another key recommendation is the setting up of six directly elected Metropolitan Planning Committees (MPCs) linked to the municipal corporations of Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Kozhikode, Kollam, Thrissur, and Kannur. According to the report, the MPCs will be responsible for steering the process of urban development in and around the respective areas.
Planning areas of the MPCs should be delineated on the basis of population size and density, connectivity, ubiquity, land use, and other relevant criteria, it says. The report also proposed the launch of the ‘Jnanashree’ programme, which would provide sust.
