On Saturday, authorities razed two aparmtment complexes in Kochi's Maradu, eight months after Supreme Court ordered the demolition of these waterfront complexes for violation of Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) norms.
At 11:20am on Saturday, the Holy Faith H20 apartment complex was brought down in a controlled demolition, This was soon followed by the Alfa Serene twin towers.
These are the first two of the four apartment complexes at Maradu that were ordered to be demolished by the Supreme Court last year for violation of Coastal Regulation Zone rules.
Kochi: Alfa Serene complex with twin apartment towers in Maradu also demolished. pic.twitter.com/zjLX5ublUB
— ANI (@ANI) January 11, 2020
Police imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 in a radius of 200 metres from the sites from 8am to 5pm on Saturday.
On Sunday, the remaining two apartment complexes, Golden Kayaloram and Jain Coral Cove, will be demolished at 11am and 2pm.
Maradu panchayat saga
The erstwhile Maradu panchayat had given permission to construct the buildings in 2006-2007. The panchayat had given permission despite a rule that stipulated that construction in the Coastal Regulation Zone was to be cleared by the Coastal Zone Management Authority.
The government had ordered the panchayat to quash its permission, but the builders obtained a stay from the Kerala High Court, allowing them to go ahead with construction.
In September 2012, the Kerala High Court passed an order in favour of the builders, but in 2015, the Coastal Zone Management Authority approached the Supreme Court. In May 2019, a Supreme Court bench, comprising Justices Arun Mishra and Naveen Sinha, ordered the demolition of the Maradu apartment complexes. In September 2019, the Supreme Court ordered that the affected apartment owners be given Rs 25 lakh each as compensation.
(With inputs from onmanorama)
