Maradu Apartment owners agree to comply with October 3 deadline

Residents, though, will have to fast-track shifting of household items and expensive interior fittings to fall in line with the apex court order

Residents of Maradu Holy Faith H2O apartments staging a hunger strike (File Photo | Albin Mathew, EPS)

KOCHI: At long last, the apartment owners in the four high-rises at Maradu, whose demolition has been ordered by the Supreme Court for breach of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) rules, on Sunday declared their intention to vacate the buildings by October 3.

And this will set the ball rolling for the state government to start the demolition process.

Since October 3 is the deadline set for eviction of residents from Holy Faith H2O, Jain Coral Cove, Golden Kayaloram and Alfa Serene, the residents will have to fast-track the shifting of household items and expensive interior fittings to meet the deadline.     

Though the owners have sought extension of the deadline, the authorities concerned have not taken any decision in this regard so far. 

Sub-Collector Snehil Kumar Singh, who has been given additional charge of Maradu municipality secretary to oversee the demolition, reiterated that the apartment owners will have to comply with the  deadline.

“We are looking into their request. But we have to meet the deadline also,” Singh told reporters here.

A team of revenue officers visited the apartments to set in motion the eviction process.

Besides,  a high-powered meeting chaired by District Collector S Suhas, which was attended by City Police Commissioner Vijay Sakhare, Sub-Collector Singh,  M Swaraj, Tripunithura MLA, and representatives of the apartment owners, was held to hear the grievances of the affected parties.

Shamsuddin Karunagappally, resident of Holy Faith H2O, said they made a couple of demands at the meeting and expect the state government to take a favourable decision.

“We know the government’s limitations and also respect the apex court’s order. The government has agreed to restore power and water supply to the apartments till the time we move out. We will accept the eviction notice served by the municipality and comply with the October 3 deadline,” he said.

State govt promises to help owners

1. The government has identified good accommodation facilities for rehabilitating us. But it wants us to pay the rent though they have agreed to factor in the rent cost in the compensation package.
   
   But we are not game for this.  We want the state government to make an additional payment of at least C1 lakh to enable us to meet the cost of rent and advance. The officials have agreed to take up the matter with the government for a favourable decision
    
2. The government has agreed to provide all necessary facilities to shift the household items from the apartments. The expenses for the same will also be borne by the state
    
3. The government has agreed to finalise the total compensation package before the demolition of the buildings
    
4. The MLA and officials have agreed that they will take steps to ensure payment of the initial compensation amount of H25 lakh within three weeks

Further action by  owners

“We will continue with the legal process to obtain a stay against the demolition. We are discussing the matter with the legal experts and will decide on approaching the Supreme Court again,” said Shamsuddin Karunagappally.

He said they have decided to call off the indefinite fast called by the owners in front of the H2O Holy Faith apartment.

“We are happy the land registered in our name will be given to us after demolition. The land is in our name and it belongs to the apartment owners. We will decide what to do with the property after demolition,” he added.