Kerala govt gives nod to ₹1,000 cr judicial city in Kalamassery
The Public Works Department has prepared the project’s preliminary design
The Public Works Department has prepared the project’s preliminary design
The Public Works Department has prepared the project’s preliminary design
Thiruvananthapuram: The State Cabinet on Wednesday gave in-principle approval for establishing a judicial city in Kalamassery at an estimated cost of over ₹1,000 crore.
The project will be implemented on 27 acres of land owned by HMT Limited. Once completed, the Kerala High Court will function from the new campus, according to a statement from the office of Law Minister P Rajeev.
This decision follows the resolutions adopted at the 2023 annual meeting between the Chief Minister and the Chief Justice. The High Court had flagged severe space constraints at its current premises. As expanding the existing complex posed challenges in land acquisition, the government opted to set up a new judicial city.
Minister P Rajeev said that Kalamassery was selected after taking into account its accessibility, geographical significance and the need to serve all sections of the public. As part of the process, P Rajeev, along with High Court judges Justice Mohammed Mustaque, Justice Bechu Kurian Thomas, Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice Satish Ninan, visited the Kalamassery site before finalising the project details.
The Public Works Department has prepared the project’s preliminary design, which will offer over 12 lakh sq ft of built-up space. Inspired by the core constitutional principles of equality, freedom and the right to life (Articles 14, 19 and 21), the design features three towers- a main tower with seven floors and two other towers with six floors each.
The proposed complex will house 61 court halls, including that of the Chief Justice, registrar offices, an auditorium, committee rooms, administrative offices, a library block, an arbitration centre, a recruitment cell, an IT department, and an information centre. It will also provide space for the Advocate General’s office, lawyers’ chambers, parking facilities and rainwater harvesting systems.
The Home Department has been tasked with initiating preliminary measures and exploring the possibility of securing central assistance.