Thiruvananthapuram: The residents of the apartment complexes at Maradu, Kochi, have received a shot in the arm with an all-party meeting on Tuesday deciding to take steps to prevent the demolition of the flats. The meeting called by the state government proposed to seek the legal opinion of the attorney-general on the issue and the support of the Union Environment Ministry so that the adverse environmental impact of demolition can be presented in the High Court. Following the meeting, the flat owners decided to temporarily suspend the strike against the demolition.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said the union government has special powers to take decisions on such environment issues. These powers should be used to solve the Maradu tangle. Letters have already been sent to the union forest-environment and climate change ministry on the matter. The ministry should implead in the case, he said and added that the government would try to get compensation from the builders for the flat owners.
The issue was discussed with Union Environment Minister Prakash Javede-kar over phone, the chief minister said.
The meeting decided to explore legal possibilities to delay the execution of the Supreme Court order. It did not decide as to what to do next although all the parties expressed their views.
An expert advocate will be appointed to present the matter before the Supreme Court.
Opposition Leader Ramesh Chennithala demanded to blacklist the builders of the apartment complexes and said if the complexes are demolished, the loss must be obtained from the builders. He also dismissed the stance of the builders.
However, CPI secretary Kanam Rajendran wanted to implement the court verdict.
“If the government can implement the SC verdict on Sabarimala, why it cannot do the same at Maradu?” he asked.
Compensation must be paid to the flat owners and it must be obtained from the builders, he said and sought legal amendments for this. Janata Dal (Secular) leader Mathew T. Thomas also said the court order should be implemented. In view of the opposition raised by Mr Rajendran, the government decided against sending an all-party delegation to Delhi to discuss the issue with the central government.
