Kochi: Colombo’s youngest mayor and only the second woman to head the Sri Lankan capital’s municipal council, Vraie Cally Balthazaar, says her city is looking closely at Kerala’s urban experiments—especially Kochi’s people-driven master plan—while drafting its own blueprint for the future. 

Speaking to Onmanorama at the Kerala Urban Conclave, Balthazaar said what struck her most was Kochi’s decision to put residents at the centre of its planning exercise. Though no official pact with Kochi corporation has been made so far, she said closer collaborations can be expected in the future.

“Kochi didn’t just rely on policymakers or planners. It held 2,500 stakeholder meetings to capture diverse voices, gender, heritage, children, and communities. That is what makes it a people’s plan. Colombo needs to do the same if we are to build a city that truly belongs to its citizens,” she said.

Balthazaar, who came to power after Sri Lanka’s 2022 citizens’ uprising ‘Aragalaya’, represents a shift in the island nation’s political culture. Balthazaar was one of the leaders at the forefront of the uprising, and she proudly calls herself the product of ‘Aragalaya’. She admits her team has been in the office barely 10 weeks, and change will take time. She says her legitimacy comes not from her age or gender but from the people.

 “Whether I’m the youngest or the second woman mayor doesn’t matter. What matters is that I work with people, not over them, and not forgetting what they want,” she said.

Colombo, which is the largest of the 341 local bodies in Sri Lanka, is in the early stages of preparing a new integrated master plan, and for the first time, it allows the municipal council to stake its claim in shaping the larger city vision. Balthazaar believes Kochi’s emphasis on inclusivity offers the right template for Colombo. “For too long, our city’s direction was decided by other government institutions. Now, as a council, we want to ensure residents shape the city they deserve,” she said. 

Like Kochi, Colombo is a coastal city grappling with climate risks like rising seas, flooding from canals, and extreme rainfall. Balthazaar warned that climate action can no longer be a secondary issue in infrastructure debates. “If climate change isn’t at the top of our agenda, we cannot call ourselves future-ready. Kerala’s sensitivity to ecology and resilience is something Colombo must learn from,” she said.