Administration of Kochi

Kochi City officials
Mayor M. Anil Kumar[1][2]
Deputy Mayor K.A Ansiya
Police Commissioner

( IG & Commissioner)

C. H. Nagaraju IPS
Secretary

(Kochi Municipal Corporation)

M.Babu Abdul Khadeer, IRPS
Ernakulam Town Hall

The city is administered by the Kochi Municipal Corporation, headed by a mayor assisted by the Secretary (Commissioner, Kochi Municipal Corporation). For administrative purposes, the city is divided into 74 wards,[3] from which the members of the corporation council are elected for five years. Earlier; Fort Kochi, Mattancherry and Ernakulam were the three Municipalities in Cochin area, which was later merged to form the Kochi Municipal Corporation.

Corporation offices

The corporation has its headquarters in Ernakulam, and zonal offices at Fort Kochi, Mattancherry, Palluruthy, Edappally, Vaduthala and Vyttila. The general administration of the city is handled by the Personnel Department and the Council Standing committee Section.[citation needed] Other departments include that of town planning, health, engineering, revenue and accounts. The corporation is also responsible for waste disposal and sewage management. The city produces more than 600 tons of waste per day[citation needed] and a large portion of waste is decomposed at Brahmapuram Solid Waste plant into organic manure.[citation needed] The supply of potable water, sourced from the Periyar River is handled by Kerala Water Authority with support of Water works department of Kochi Corporation.[4] Electricity is provided by the Kerala State Electricity Board. The GCDA and GIDA are the government agencies initiating and monitoring the development of Greater Cochin area, mainly in developing infrastructure facilities for the city.

Law and order

The High Court of Kerala located in the city is the highest court in Kerala

Ernakulam, Kochi, is the seat of High Court of Kerala, the highest judicial body in the state of Kerala and the union territory of Lakshadweep. The Kochi City Police is headed by a Police Commissioner, an Indian Police Service (IPS) officer. The city is divided into five zones and each zone under a circle officer. Apart from regular law & order, the city police comprises the Traffic Police, Narcotics Cell, Riot horse, Armed Reserve Camps, District Crime Records Bureau and a Women's Police station.[5] It operates 19 police stations[citation needed] functioning under the Home Ministry of Government of Kerala. An anti-corruption branch of the Central Bureau of Investigation also operates out of the city. CISF maintains 3 squadrons for providing security to various central and state heavy industries, airport and seaport zones. Other major central agencies are NIA, DRI and Indian Customs due to the presence of major port. According to National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), Kochi reported significant increase of 193.7 per cent IPC crimes in 2010 compared to 2009, and reported a crime rate of 1,897.8 compared to the 424.1 in whole Kerala.[6] However, Kochi Police officials defended that in major crimes such as murders and kidnapping, the city registered a low crime rate[7] even behind other cities in the state.[8] During the rainy season, a large number of organised burglars come to Kochi from Thiruttu Gramam (Village of thieves) near Tirunelveli in Tamil Nadu and conduct a series of burglaries.[9] Recently the Kerala police has sought the assistance of various residents' associations of Cochin city to tackle this issue.[10]

Federal Government

Kochi Corporation is part of the Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency in Indian Parliament. The current elected Member of Parliament representing the constituency is Hibi Eden of Indian National Congress.

The Ernakulam Lok Sabha constituency elects six members to the state Legislative Assembly. Out of this, five constituencies, namely Kochi, Ernakulam, Thripunithura, Thrikkakara and Kalamassery represent the city.[11]

References

  1. ^ "M Anilkumar takes over as Kochi Mayor". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  2. ^ Staff Reporter (29 December 2020). "M. Anilkumar elected Kochi Mayor". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 2 January 2022.
  3. ^ "Corporation of Cochin, Division Map" (PDF). Corporation of cochin. Archived from the original (PDF) on 5 November 2010. Retrieved 3 November 2010.
  4. ^ "Private firm allowed to draw Periyar water". The Hindu. 9 September 2003. Archived from the original on 24 December 2003. Retrieved 22 August 2006.
  5. ^ "Organisational chart". Kochi City Police. Archived from the original on 24 August 2006. Retrieved 22 August 2006.
  6. ^ Radhakrishnan, S. Anil (28 October 2011). "Alarming crime rate in Kochi". The Hindu.
  7. ^ "Crime yes, but no Capital- Kochi- IBNLive". Ibnlive.in.com. 29 October 2011. Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 12 November 2012.
  8. ^ Haridas, Anand (30 October 2011). "Kochi city police 'set record straight'". The Hindu.
  9. ^ "Thiruttu Gramam Folks on the Prowl". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. Retrieved 27 July 2015.
  10. ^ "Residents' help sought to tackle theft". The Times of India. 10 September 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2018.
  11. ^ "Delimitation of Constituencies, Final Order" (PDF). Chief Electoral Officer, Kerala. Archived from the original (PDF) on 26 June 2011. Retrieved 3 March 2011.