Marad flat row: Owners not likely to get any relief

Owners of the Maradu flats are not likely to receive any relief from the state authorities relating to the eviction and demolition of the apartment buildings in Kochi here.

According to a highly placed source in the state authority, the Marad flat owners will not be given any more time for the evacuation process and the water and electricity will be disconnected by tomorrow evening.

Owners of the Maradu flats have been on a protest ever since the Supreme Court directed state authorities to evacuate and demolish the building.

"No notice of demolition was served in advance to the flat owners. We will continue to protest till the time the government fulfils our demand. We don't know what is happening. No compensation has been provided to us either," said KB Subeesh Lal, Kochi resident association secretary.

The Supreme Court has directed the state authorities to evict the residents by October 3 and ordered an interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh to each flat owner to be paid within four weeks' time.

The court had also said that it will appoint a committee comprising retired judges, technical experts, and civil engineers to assess the balance compensation payable to the flat owners by the builders and to oversee the demolition.

As per the court order, as many as 400 flats are scheduled to be demolished.