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The State Environment Impact Assessment Authority Kerala (SEIAA-K) of the Ministry of Environment and Forests has okayed environment clearance for the first building of SmartCity Kochi.
A meeting of the authority held at Thiruvananthapuram on Friday cleared the SmartCity application, though it might take a few more weeks for a formal certificate to be issued. The State-level Environment Assessment Committee had early this month recommended clearance for the project. The much-awaited clearance marks a milestone for the signature development project of Kochi.
“The issuance of the certificate will take some more time as we need to finish the paperwork,” A.E. Muthunayagam, chairman of the authority, told Business Line . “We know the importance of the project, but there is a meticulous procedure to be followed before we issue the certificate.”
Muthunayagam hinted that the certificate could issued by the next meeting of the authority, scheduled for August 23.
Expressing happiness at the clearance, a senior executive of SmartCity said the formal launch of construction of the building would start only after the company secured the certificate. But all the preparations would be completed before that. The 6.5-lakh square feet building would come up on a 10-acre lot of the 243 acres acquired for the project, he said.
He also said the master plan of the first phase would be submitted to the authority soon.
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