Jains Westminster: Retired judges’ panel to oversee evacuation of 472 flats
CHENNAI: The Madras High Court has constituted a two-member committee comprising retired High Court judges to look into issues regarding the poor quality of construction and damages in the structure of the Jains Westminster apartments at Saligramam in Chennai.
A division bench of Justices SS Sundar and N Senthilkumar on Tuesday passed the interim orders to form the committee on the petitions filed by aggrieved flat owners. The committee, consisting of retired judges Justices KN Basha and Kannan, is tasked with the supervision of evacuating 472 occupants of the three blocks and providing them with alternative accommodation.
“The committee is required to consider the representation of individual flat owners for arranging accommodation. It shall try to find alternative accommodation for the flat owners with equal space and amenities,” the bench said in the order.
The alternative accommodation shall be provided within a five-km radius of the existing flats or they may be given the option to pick the location, the bench said while granting the panel three months to carry out the evacuation exercise.
Senior advocates AL Somayaji and S Prabakaran appeared for the Jains Westminster Flat Owners Association while senior advocate Vijay Narayan represented the Jains Constructions Limited. The association approached the High Court with the petition last year seeking reconstruction of all three blocks comprising about 600 flats after parts of the ceiling collapsed.
An expert team of the IIT-M had suggested reconstruction of the apartments after confirming the poor quality of construction. The bench also asked the builder and the flat owners to hold a meeting to discuss the issues to move forward.
The court, during the last hearing, directed Jains Housing and Constructions Limited to file a report on the financial resources available with the firm for reconstruction of the flats along with details of its previous and ongoing projects.