KOCHI: The government will recover the entire expense in the Maradu flat demolition -- the compensation for flat owners and cost of demolition of the five apartment complexes (including a half-built structure) — estimated at about Rs 85 crore from the builders and their promoters.
According to government officials, of the total Rs 85 crore, compensation to the flat owners alone would constitute Rs 81.2 crore and another Rs 2.3 crore for the demolition of flats. The remaining Rs 1 crore-plus will be for other costs such as the remuneration and office expenses for the Justice Balakrishnan Nair Committee, appointed by the Supreme Court for finalising compensation for the flat owners.
A recent order issued by Dr Usha Titus, principal secretary, clearly mentions that the expenses incurred for the functioning of the Supreme Court-appointed committee and the compensation to the flat owners will be levied from the persons who are responsible for erecting buildings violating environmental norms.
“Yes, the government is moving ahead with a plan to recover the whole expense from the builders and promoters. If the 326 flat owners are eligible for the full compensation of Rs 25 lakh, the government will have to shell out Rs 81.26 crore. Since the government is not in a position to bear the financial burden, it has been planned to recover the entire expense from the parties who are responsible for the construction,” said a source in the government.
The Supreme Court had given full freedom to the state government to recover the interim compensation amount from the builders and promoters. “As per the tender submitted by Edifice Engineering and Vijay Steels (the two companies selected for the demolition), the total expense for demolition will come around Rs 2.32 crore. But no government order to recover the demolition expense has reached the Maradu municipality. However, we hope the government will soon issue an order to recover the demolition expense from the builders. So far, the government has only sanctioned Rs 1 crore to meet the cost related to the demolition of the flats,” said a government official.
Earlier, the Crime Branch had frozen the bank accounts of Sandeep Mehta, MD of Jain Housing and Construction Ltd; Paul Raj, MD of Alfa Ventures Private Ltd; and Sany Francis, MD of Holy Faith Builders and Developers Pvt Ltd. It had also frozen the bank accounts with Rs 18 crore in deposits of Holy Faith Builders.
The Crime Branch had also issued a letter to the Revenue and Registration departments to confiscate the land and property of the builders.
‘Disburse Rs 10 crore to 58 owners’
Kochi: The Justice Balakrishnan Nair Committee appointed by the Supreme Court to consider the compensation for Maradu flat residents on Friday directed the state government to disburse an interim amount of Rs 10.22 crore to 58 flat owners. Only five apartment owners have been found eligible to receive the full interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh each. The committee will hold its next sitting on Tuesday owing to the byelection in Ernakulam assembly constituency.