Opposition objects to alleged move to convert existing Kochi Corporation office into museum without consulting council

The Opposition United Democratic Front (UDF) has expressed strong disapproval over the alleged decision to entrust the Centre for Heritage, Environment and Development (C-HED) with preparing a proposal for converting the existing Kochi city Corporation office into a museum, without consulting the council.

M.G. Aristotle, UDF parliamentary party leader, has written to Mayor M. Anilkumar, expressing the Opposition’s objection to the alleged move, which, he claimed, effectively reduced the council to a scarecrow. The letter demanded that the initiative be withdrawn and that any such proposal be thoroughly discussed in the council.

Mr. Aristotle said that the Opposition came to know about the proposal only after it figured in a C-HED executive committee meeting chaired by the Mayor on September 9. As per an agenda item, the C-HED had initiated steps to convert the old Corporation office into a museum. “It should have been discussed in the council before the C-Hed was assigned any such work,” he said.

New office under construction

Mr. Anilkumar, however, dismissed the allegations, saying that no such proposal could proceed without the council’s approval. He clarified that it was merely a thought regarding the future use of the current office once the Corporation relocated to its new headquarters which was under construction near High Court Junction. Additionally, the C-HED office would also need to shift to the existing Corporation office premises as its current office was slated for renovation.

“The existing office is a heritage structure and the idea of converting it into a museum was only briefly contemplated. In any case, such a transformation is a lengthy process and is unlikely to be undertaken during the tenure of this council,” Mr. Anilkumar said.

Several proposals

Sources indicate that the museum concept is merely one among several possibilities that the C-HED has been asked to explore for the existing Corporation office. Other potential proposals include an interactive science gallery, a museum on shipbuilding technology or chronicling the history of Kochi and the city Corporation. As the Corporation office is a public asset, any proposal to convert it into a museum would necessitate government authorisation.