KOCHI: Even as Maradu flat owners await the interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh following the Supreme Court order to demolish the four apartment complexes, their expectation to get a better package from the expert committee led by Justice K Balakrishnan Nair, a former judge of the Kerala High Court, may not fructify.
Since most of the residents have quoted below Rs 1 lakh as registration fee in the purchase of their apartments, it might adversely affect their chances of receiving the remaining compensation. “Though an interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh will be given to the flat owners, the parameters to assess the remaining amount are yet to be decided,” said a Maradu municipality official.
However, the official clarified that the committee will consider the expenses incurred by the flat owners over the years. “As many residents have quoted very less amount as the registration amount, it might impact obtaining of further compensation, but nothing has been decided yet. In fact, many of them have renovated their flats several times. Considering all these aspects, the committee will take a final decision soon,” said the official. While Rs 1 lakh was shown for each apartment in the registration document of Holy Faith H2O, done in 2006, the amount was about Rs 2 lakh for Jain Coral Cove, according to sources.
The residents pointed out that all file work was handled by the builders. “The majority of the registration procedures have been done by the builders themselves. As many of us were abroad, they completed the process and we signed on the documents. Like a usual land sale, they quoted only a lesser amount compared to the actual sale amount,” said a flat owner on the condition of anonymity. Although many residents have the details of transferring the actual amount, they are apprehensive about their impact.