TDB to lease out vacant lands

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) is on an ambitious mission  to fill its coffers by leasing out vacant prime land under its possession across South Kerala.As part of this, the Board has decided to set up petrol bunks in conjunction with the Indian Oil Corporation at three locations; Nilakkal in Pathanamthitta, Sanghumugham in Thiruvananthapuram and Vandanam in Alappuzha. ‘’Besides generating revenue, the project would help the Board prevent encroachers and anti-social elements from invading these properties,’’ said TDB Commissioner N Vasu.The petrol pump at Nilakkal, the base station for Sabarimala pilgrims, was originally proposed in the Sabarimala Master Plan. At present, the vehicles carrying 50 million-odd pilgrims to the hill-shrine are depending on the filling station at Pampa. Long queues of vehicles are a common sight here during the annual pilgrimage season. The Board also plans to renovate the existing pump at Pampa with better facilities. The Board will also set up a gas depot at Nilakkal to cater to the needs of the temple as well as the private traders. ‘’Currently, private gas agencies are supplying LPG at Pampa and Sannidhanam, which often leads to complaints of over charging. The IOC depot would put an end to this,’’ said Vasu.A high-level meeting held by the TDB and the IOC on Tuesday discussed the modalities of the project. The meeting discussed whether the pumps should be on BOT basis or to be directly run by the IOC or to be assigned to third parties. TDB president M Rajagopalan Nair, Commissioner N Vasu and chief engineer K Ravikumar attended the meeting.As per the agreement reached in the meeting, the project cost will be borne by the IOC. In return, the Board will have to give a fixed percentage of the sales proceedings for 15 years. It is learnt that the Board is considering the option to run the fuel stations directly. However, a final decision will be taken at the Board meeting to be held shortly.The Board should also get the clearance of the State Government for the Nilakkal pump as the land is taken on long-term lease from the State Farming Corporation. The IOC has expressed its interest to set up outlets in several other locations under the fold of the Board.