Experience Kochi with the click of a mouse

KOCHI: The delay in retendering is affecting the progress of the Geographic Information System (GIS) enabled mapping project of the Kochi Corporation.The prestigious project will help the corporation to have a digital map of Kochi.The mapping will track each building in the city, nearly 1.5 million people, every road, tree and even the garbage bins and all these data will be made available at the click of a mouse.GIS is designed to capture, manage, analyse and display all forms of geographically referenced information and merge them with the hardware and software to create a digital map. GIS mapping project falls under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) and is undertaken by the Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Plan (KSUDP).The project is funded by ADB and the authorities had earlier allotted the work to a Mumbai-based agency which completed door-todoor surveys in some of the wards. However, they were terminated later and the authorities decided to re-tender the project.It was learnt later that the survey for GIS mapping is yet to be completed.“The survey is based on 48 questions revolving around various parameters.The survey will help the civic administration to identify people staying in each house and their whereabouts,” said a top corporation official.He said that the project was now being executed as a part of the e-governance project. “A geographical survey has to be carried out. It will cover various aspects including property, land details, drainage system, street lamps, roads and other details. Afterwards, a base map has to be prepared.These map will provide the geographical details and will be in the form of a 3D image, which will be superimposed with the survey details,” the official added. Once done, GIS maps would help the authorities to track property tax defaulters, vital installations and water and drainage leakages.