The deadline to vacate Maradu flats ends on Thursday but the flat owners facing eviction have asked for another 15 days to move out. They have threatened to resume their hunger strike if they were not given the extra time.
Nonetheless, Fort Kochi sub collector Snehil Kumar Singh, the official appointed to oversee the eviction, is said to have told the residents during a meeting today that the violation of the Supreme Court deadline would have serious legal consequences.
The flat owners were disappointed that they were not given a new list of alternative accommodation options. They had already complained that the contact details given them were drawn up by the municipality in the most casual manner. They belong to either brokers or middlemen and some are even fake, the flat owners say.
There are some authentic builders or house owners in the list but they are reluctant to entertain the request of Maradu flat owners fearing 'legal complications following the involvement of the state government.' The Maradu municipal secretary, Mohammad Arif Khan, had the other day promised the flat owners that he would present them a new contact list. This has not yet been given.
Earlier, the administration had claimed that they had identified over 500 flats in the city and its premises for the relocation of the people living in the four apartment complexes for their temporary rehabilitation.
“We don't require a government body to get the numbers of real estate or building brokers. Most of the contact details in the list are either fake or of middlemen. The contact persons are speaking about their profit in the deal rather than arranging us a decent housing,” Binoj, a flat owner at H2O Holy Faith told Onmanorama.
According to the flat residents, not a single family has shifted to the rehabilitation centres provided by the government.
It is not as if the families have not tried. Binoj also said that the owners of the flats they approached demanded Rs 30,000 to 40,000 a month once it was known that they were evictees from the flats that were to be demolished in Maradu. “Other families living in the same apartment will be paying only Rs 15,000 a month. It now seems that people are exploiting our helplessness,” he said.
Fort Kochi sub collector Snehil Kumar Singh held a discussion with the flat owners on Wednesday to learn about the difficulties they faced in vacating their flats. According to the flat owners, the sub collector told the meeting that if the Supreme Court ultimatum was not adhered to, the municipality officials, flat owners and he himself would face contempt of court charges.
“I will report to the concerned authorities about the hardships you face in vacating the flats,” the sub collector is said to have told the residents.
Accept our demands or we'll go on a fast
Before he could leave, the residents of four flats in Maradu that face demolition submitted three demands before the sub collector. The flat owners told the media that they would resume the hunger strike in case the government rejects their demands.
1) Grant at least 15 days for the complete evacuation of flats.
2) Power and water should be provided throughout these fifteen days.
3) Provide credible contact details of decent rehabilitation centres or apartments on October 2 or 3.
Commenting on their demands, Beyoj, a businessman who owns a flat in Holy Faith H2O, said that the two weeks is the minimum period all the families in a residential complex would take to vacate the structure. “We have only two elevators and these have been working continuously for over 54 hours now. There are around 55 families in a single flat. How can anyone expect us to take down our furniture and belongings in just 48 hours” Beyoj asked.
Antony, another flat owner at H2O, said that the families would not shift to an alternative apartment if it was not in the vicinity. “We have working adults and school going children among us. How can we move to apartments in Thrissur or Aluva? Some of the apartments in the list are situated in distant cities,” he said.
Beyoj added that 15 days is reasonable compared to the 138 days govt has got to demolish the flats.
Onmanorama tried to get the reaction of sub collector Snehil Kumar Singh but he left without speaking to the media.
