Demolition of illegal Maradu flats to begin today, Section 144 to be imposed in the area
The demolition of illegal apartment complexes in Maradu has begun. Meanwhile, section 144 of the CrPC enforced on land, air, and water in the area. The complexes housing a total of 343 flats would be brought down using the implosion method. The final round of demolition will take place on Sunday.
As per reports, the demolition would be carried out safely without causing any damage to buildings in the neighborhood. As a precautionary measure, people living in the neighborhood falling under the evacuation zone, a 200-meter radius from the complexes, have been asked to move out of the area on the two days.
The Supreme Court had in September 2019 directed the demolition of the apartment complexes within 138 days, a timeline was given by the Kerala government.
On May 8 last year, the apex court had directed that these buildings be removed within a month as they were constructed in a notified CRZ, which was part of the tidally-influenced water body in Kerala.
The court had passed the order after taking note of a report of a three-member committee, which said when the buildings were built, the area was already notified as a CRZ and construction was prohibited.
Though the residents staged protests for several days refusing to vacate, later they relented. The court has ordered an interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh each to the owners of the flats.
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