KOCHI: With the state government sanctioning relief for the remaining 20 claimants approved by the Supreme Court-appointed committee, 264 flat owners, who were among those evicted from four highrises in Maradu following the apex court order to raze the buildings, will each receive a compensation of Rs 25 lakh.
The committee had received 266 claim petitions till November last year. “When we approached the committee seeking compensation for the remaining 22 petitions, we were told a list of 20 pleas had been approved and forwarded to the government. The government is yet to release funds for them. There is a lack of clarity regarding the remaining two claim petitions, and we are yet to get a clear picture on why the committee has not approved relief for them,” said Shamsudeen Karunagappally, chairman of Maradu Bhavana Samrakshana Samiti, the coordination committee of apartment owners. On Thursday, the government sanctioned the release of compensation amounting to Rs 8.75 crore to 35 flat owners as per the committee’s recommendations. The state government has released Rs 58.11 crore till last Thursday. As per the committee, 94 per cent of the compensation amount has been released and only Rs 3.88 crore is remaining. The committee agreed that there was a delay in releasing money to some of the claimants, owing to a paucity of funds. Such claimants could approach the government or move the Supreme Court, it said.
‘Pay us compensation as per market value’
Meanwhile, the Maradu Bhavana Samrakshana Samiti demanded the state government to pay the compensation amount as per the market value. “Most of the flat owners had bought the apartments by paying Rs 1 crore-Rs 1.5 crore and the initial compensation of Rs 25 lakh is very low. The government should take necessary steps to compensate the flat owners. Many of them are still living in rented places as they lack funds to buy a house,” said S Jayakumar, who was a resident of Holy Faith H20. The apex court had asked builders to deposit Rs 61.50 crore for disbursing compensation to the flat owners. While K P Varkey & Sons and V S Builders paid the entire amount, Jain Constructions has remitted only around Rs 2 crore so far. However, Alfa Ventures and Holy Faith Builders are yet to pay the compensation.