HC orders demolition of Military Welfare Affiliation’s towers

Corroding metal bars have resulted in chunks of concrete and tiles freely giving from the pillars, beams, stairs and different areas, from nearly all flooring of the three towers of Chander Kunj Towers of the Military Welfare Housing Organisation at Silversand Island at Vyttila, Kochi.
| Picture Credit score: H VIBHU

The Kerala Excessive Court docket on Monday ordered the demolition and reconstruction of Tower B and C of Chander Kunj Military Towers on Silversand Island, Vytilla, developed by the Military Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO), which had confronted critical structural issues.

Justice Mohammed Nias C.P. issued the order “to stop casualties and defend lives and properties”. The order got here on a batch of writ petitions filed by the affiliation of the homeowners of the 2 towers in addition to a number of the homeowners.

That they had challenged an order of the District Collector directing retrofitting and searching for reconstruction in addition to compensation. The Collector on March 29, 2024 had additionally issued an order underneath the Catastrophe Administration Act, 2005 for fast evacuation.

The flats had been constructed solely for serving and retired defence personnel and their dependents.

The courtroom noticed that ”the misery to the towers is undeniably human-induced, inflicting vital loss and struggling on account of cumulative violations of regulatory, structural, and environmental requirements. Continued occupation poses grave dangers, necessitating fast evacuation to make sure neighborhood security. Contemplating the knowledgeable stories, the Kerala Municipalities Act 1994, the Kerala Municipality Constructing Guidelines 1999, and the Catastrophe Administration Act 2005, and the order handed by the District Collector, Ernakulam, there isn’t a different however to direct AWHO to demolish and reconstruct the towers.”

The courtroom directed the District Collector to represent a committee comprising consultants, together with an skilled structural engineer, two homeowners from the residents affiliation, an skilled engineer from the municipality involved, an skilled officer from the City Planning Division, and such different personnel obligatory for a correct implementation of the demolition and reconstruction of the towers with equal measurement and services.

The courtroom ordered that the committee ought to meet inside two weeks and determine the modalities for evacuation of the allottees, demolition, and reconstruction of the towers in query.

The courtroom stated the committee would have the facility to make the suitable selection of know-how, together with architectural and structural designs and a mission affect evaluation, for the demolition and reconstruction and to make sure that it did not have an effect on the communities within the affected areas or the neighbourhood.

As quickly because the authorities involved within the State obtained purposes relating to demolition or reconstruction, topic to assembly all of the parameters, permission will likely be accorded with none pointless delay by treating this as a particular case.

The courtroom made it clear that the AWHO may additionally search permission to assemble extra flooring/extra areas on the identical website the place the towers have been located, topic to the provisions of the related constructing guidelines, to allow them to offset the bills incurred within the demolition and reconstruction.

The committee would additionally determine on the additional quantity that might be collected from the homeowners earlier than handing over the newly constructed constructing.

The courtroom directed AWHO to pay the homeowners of Tower B and C, who have been residing on March 29, 2024 ₹21,000 and ₹23,000 respectively per thirty days in the direction of the bills for different lodging till reconstruction.

The committee would even be empowered to make such complaints towards these answerable for making a state of affairs that led to the demolition of the towers in query.

AWHO contended that it had initiated arbitration towards the mission director, architect, and contractor to get better losses, making it pointless for this courtroom to research duty for the state of affairs additional.