In what comes as a setback for the Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA), the Amicus Curiae appointed by the Kerala High Court, on Friday submitted a report to the court which states that the claims made by the GCDA regarding the maintenance work at Marine Drive in Ernakulam are inaccurate.
According to a report by the Times of India (ToI), GCDA has claimed that it had taken actions to improve the infrastructure at the picturesque Marine Drive by repairing the lights, installing CCTV cameras, replacing damaged tiles, and fixing the damaged benches along the walkway.
As per the Amicus Curiae report filed by Liju V Stephen, the number of CCTV cameras are inadequate as only two have been installed when there are a total of five entry points to the walkway. It has also been reported that only the metal-halide lights along the walkway are in working condition whereas the 100 ornamental lights that have been set up at the Marine Drive are not working.
The other major issue pointed out by the Amicus Curiae is the dumping of waste into the adjacent Vembanad lake from residential apartments and building complexes in that area.
According to a report by The New Indian Express, the Amicus Curiae found that many of the buildings out of the total 54 buildings along the Marine Drive, do not have proper sewage disposal measures.
The report states that every building is supposed to have a sewage treatment plant (STP) but as of now, only nine buildings are using STPs, which are provided by the GCDA. The Amicus Curiae report stated that during their inspection it was found that some of the buildings do have an STP, although it is not working. The only option for many of the buildings is to drain the sewage into the lake.