Here is a view into how Corporation of Cochin makes and spends money. The data is via Corporation of Cochin’s September 2009 Income & Expenditure Report. The stark reality from this 7 month report is that there is very little money at the Corporation of Cochin’s disposal. Even though there might be a lot of rich people in Kochi, the city itself is very poor.
From a total revenue of Rs. 46.58 Crore (~10 Million Dollars) between April 2009 and September 2009, about 57% of the income goes into expenses and the remaining surplus (43%) goes into the Municipal fund. Out of the Rs. 26.63 Crore (~5 Million Dollars) the Corporation has spent this year, more than half goes towards salaries and employee related allowances. Only about Rs. 4 Crore (~ 800,000 Dollar) is spent on city maintenance.
The reality is in the numbers here; this city makes very little reveune, and so has very little to spend. And from the very little it has to spend, half the income is not utilized, and from the rest very little goes towards actual maintenance and improvement of the city.
Fiscally the city is good at saving money, but with the very little revenue the city has right now, it really needs to rethink it’s strategy. It needs to become more efficient at how it utilizes the revenue, put more of it in improving the city, and be willing to spend more on the city.
“A Box With A View” a Documentary by Magee Clegg, providing a great snapshot of how Cable TV is changing the lifestyle, culture, and traditions of villages in Kerala through interviews done in a village in the backwaters of Kerala.
Recently Kerala Water Authority(KWA) was in the neighborhood to fix a blocked sewer system, and as a result I got to witness the way KWA does things, which unfortunately has not progressed much over the years.
Firstly, I found it very strange and troubling that the very authority that supplies us clean water, is the one responsible for the sewerage systems in Kerala. It will be well worth an investigation to find out what really goes on behind the scenes. Even more disturbing, KWA started back in 1938 plans to build modern sewer systems in Kerala. It’s 2009 and only two cities, Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi have sewer systems, with work progressing in Guruvayoor. So, if you are expecting sewer systems along “modern lines” in Kerala in your lifetime, you can forget about it!
If that has been discerning, the rest of this post is not going make things any better. The KWA workers who lower themselves down into the disgusting sewerage waters are not offered any sort of protective or safety gear. In the land of rubber, these workers don’t even have rubber boots, gloves, or any other sort of protective clothing. Sewage work anywhere is a dirty job, but at least KWA could better equip their workers to make their working conditions bearable.
Utter disregard for basic cleanliness is the next observation. The KWA workers dumped the water from the blocked sewage pipe into the nearby open rain gutters. These rain gutters in Kochi don’t even drain rain water properly, and so the stinking sewage water dumped into the rain gutters, started to quickly overflow in to the neighborhood and stinking up the place.
Lastly, there is no planning, no supervision, or any professionals involved; just poorly equipped and probably poorly paid KWA workers making random decisions on how to fix things. When the water was being dumped into the rain gutters, there was no thought put into the consequences of the action, the potential stench and disease the sewerage water can spread. It was business as usual, and same practices as they have been doing for decades. To make things even more disgusting, the solid waste from the sewage was being transported in plastic waste bags, which obviously ripped and spread more filth in the neighborhood.
“We will provide quality water supply and wastewater services in an environmental friendly and sustainable manner”
That is the vision of Kerala Water Authority, the ideals the KWA needs to stick to are all in that vision. Unfortunately, like most things in Kerala, such statements are either ignored, or even unknown to most. As a first step, KWA needs to not only change its ways but also become a department which sticks to its own vision statement for a change.
KWA is pretty much the soul of cities in Kerala. Without it’s clean water, and collection and treatment of sewage, cities in Kerala will become unlivable, filthy, and disease prone. With a little bit of re-thinking, re-structuring, and a whole lot of action, KWA can change all this and make Kerala a lot more cleaner.
