KOCHI: The demolition agreement for towers B and C of the Chander Kunj apartment complex on Silver Sand Island in Vyttila is expected to be signed by the end of this week, with the subcommittee under the district collector set to convene a meeting on Thursday. Even after almost one and half years of a Kerala High Court order to demolish two of the Chander Kunj Army Towers, the handover of the buildings have been delayed. As many as 22 residents, out of a total of 178 families, are yet to receive the rental compensation promised by the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO).
While the district administration is set to go ahead with the signing of the agreement, without the builder officially handing over the flats, the Mumbai-based firm that has acquired the demolition contract, Edifice Consultants, will not able to initiate the procedures required. Towers B and C of the Chander Kunj apartment complex were found to be of poor quality and violated several norms at various stages of construction, resulting in huge trouble to the residents there.
The flats were constructed by AWHO, headquartered in New Delhi. As complaints poured in, the residents’ association approached the High Court, seeking an intervention.
The court ordered the demolition of the flats, as expert-led inspections deemed the construction faulty. The residents were then shifted to rental properties for which AWHO was directed to pay a compensation. So far, 156 families have received the compensation while others are still waiting.
To monitor the whole process, a committee headed by the district collector was also formed. It had decided to initiate procedures for the demolition by handing over the custody of the towers to the Mumbai-based firm. “AWHO officials failed to attend the meeting convened to initiate the handover process.
The flat residents too were present. However, in the absence of an AWHO official, we couldn’t move ahead,” said an official with the monitoring committee.
While 24 people had raised complaints of not receiving the compensation, the committee has been working on resolving the issue, the official said. “Some of the documents required to transfer the compensation funds were missing. Out of 24, 2 were cleared while the process is under way to ensure the remaining families also receive the compensation,” the official added.
