Kochi: Flat owners must submit affidavits by Sunday in order to claim compensation for the impending demolition of their property at Maradu. The four highrises which comprise these flats are to be razed soon to comply with an apex court order over violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.
After the verification of affidavits, the compensation amount will be deposited in their bank accounts within two days.
This will be subject to cross-checking the details in the affidavit, sub-collector Snehil Kumar informed. He has been appointed to oversee the demolition process as per a Supreme Court order.
The Justice (retired) Balakrishnan Nair committee had recommended compensation for 107 flat owners. Of them only 13 flat owners will get Rs 25 lakh, the maximum allowed.
All the 107 applicants are expected to submit an affidavit stating their permanent address and bank account details at the Maradu Municipality office latest by Sunday in order to claim the compensation amount, the sub-collector said.
"The affidavits have to be entered on stamp papers costing minimum Rs 200. We will provide them a model which they could refer and replicate. This is done to ensure there are no cases of forgery and to ensure the authenticity of financial transactions," Snehil said.
The committee decided the compensation amount for each flat owner after examining the property value as per the property registration documents.
The sub-collector said every flat owner will get the compensation though the amount may vary. The ownership of land where the flats are constructed still vests with the flat owners.
The state government and the Supreme Court have not made any directive regarding the transfer of its ownership.
Waste management, transportation
The demolition of the four structures at Maradu is likely to be completed before January 9. After that, debris removal will start.
Commenting on the disposal of huge quantity of debris after demolition, Snehil Kumar said that it was difficult to find an appropriate land to dump the debris within the city.
"We have to be really careful while allocating land for moving debris. It should neither be a wetland zone, government land, nor another coastal zone," he said.
There are strict norms laid by the Pollution Control Board regarding the management of solid waste and building debris.
The debris have to be filled in container trucks. The surface of each load should be dampened by sprinkling water on top layer in order to avoid air pollution.
The truck loads also have to be covered with thick coverings to prevent spilling.
Snehil's role in the process is to ensure that each step in the demolition process doesn't violate the norms laid by the Pollution Control Board, municipality and the Land Revenue Act.
Strategy of demolition
The companies assigned with the demolition task will only bring down the external structures and the under-ground piling up to one meter depth. Rest of the portion underneath the ground will be left as it is.
As the initial step, windows, doors and fixed furniture were removed from Alfa Serene on Saturday.
Later, the share-walls, internal divisions and concrete slabs will be drilled down.
The external walks will be demolished in the fourth phase only. Controlled explosions will be used only in the final phase, if required.
Some structures like the parking space of Jains Coral Cove is situated too close to the water body.
Chances are high for the debris to fall into the water bodies.
So the companies have planned to isolate the portions of buildings situated close to the lake and demolish them manually in the final phase.
"Golden Kayaloram being a very symmetrical structure, will mostly be subjected to vertical demolition to protect the settlements nearby," he said. It will be a challenging task to demolish Alfa Serene as the two towers are situated close to each other. "Among the four structures, Jains Coral Cove is the closest to lake," he said.
The septic tanks will be cleared and wastes will be transported in the third phase of demolition.
Threat to surrounding buildings
The demolition teams are concerned about the houses and other buildings situated close to the four flats.
An Anganwadi functionis close to Golden Kayaloram and a villa situated opposite Jains Coral Cove. Snehil will hold a meeting with explosion expert Sarath Sarwate to discuss the demolition strategy in detail so that occupants of nearby buildings of the four flats can be alerted on safety measures.
The apex court had ordered the demolition of the flats that were built by violating the CRZ norms.
The court had passed the order after taking note of a report by a three-member committee.
