Thiruvananthapuram | The Kerala government on Tuesday announced the launch of a new initiative titled 'SPACE' to remove abandoned and unclaimed vehicles lying for years within and around police station premises across the state.

Announcing the project at a press conference here, state Home Minister Ramesh Chennithala said the scheme, named SPACE (Scrap Processing for Area Cleanup and Enhancement), aims to free police station compounds of vehicles that have remained parked there for long periods.

The project, with the tagline "Reclaim, Renew, Revive", will be implemented by the Kerala Police Housing and Construction Corporation Limited (KPHCC) in association with CERO, a central public sector enterprise.

Chennithala said the move addresses a long-pending demand and is intended to improve cleanliness and space management in police station premises.

A committee headed by the State Police Chief as chairman and the Managing Director of KPHCC as a member will formulate and oversee the implementation of the project, he said.

The minister said directions have been issued to conduct an inventory of vehicles lying in police stations and to complete the required procedures in a time-bound manner.

There had been widespread complaints that abandoned vehicles parked in and around police stations were causing inconvenience to the public, he said.

While there is an existing mechanism to auction such vehicles, it has not proved to be a permanent solution, Chennithala added.

A detailed report on the implementation of the project will be finalised by the committee under the leadership of the chairman, he said.

Police Adviser A Hemachandran, State Police Chief Ravada A Chandrasekhar and Additional Director General of Police Gugaloth Lakshman were also present at the press conference.