T’puram: The allotment of newly constructed flats under the Smart City redevelopment project at Rajaji Nagar is facing a delay, with KWA yet to provide the water connection to the completed housing block.The first phase of the rehabilitation project, implemented by Smart City Thiruvananthapuram Ltd (SCTL), comprises a four-storey residential block with 32 two-bedroom apartments. The building, constructed at a cost of around Rs 9 crore, has been completed earlier and the power connection has already been provided. However, the pending water connection has held up the final process of allotment and occupation.A senior official of SCTL said all arrangements for allotting the flats and shifting the beneficiaries were nearing completion, and the remaining process could be taken up immediately after the water connection was provided.The official said the corporation expects to begin shifting beneficiaries within about two months after the allotment process starts. Families who had been temporarily relocated to facilitate construction are among those expected to be accommodated in the new flats.“The process is under way and the connection has not been completed yet. We are taking steps to provide the connection at the earliest,” said a KWA official.The delay comes despite the first phase having already crossed the construction stage. The project is part of the larger redevelopment of Rajaji Nagar, spread over 12.6 acres, where hundreds of families live in ageing and substandard housing. The integrated redevelopment plan envisages 248 new housing units along with internal roads, stormwater drainage, parking and community facilities.The first phase was originally targeted for completion in 2025. In July, SCTL officials had said the apartment block was ready for occupation except for the pending KWA connection and that the allotment process had been initiated.
