New Delhi/Kochi: The Supreme Court on Friday directed the state government to provide Rs 25-lakh interim compensation to all affected flat owners at Maradu irrespective of the assessment made by the committee headed by Justice K. Balakrishnan Nair.
A bench of justices Arun Mishra and S. Ravindra Bhat asked the builders of the five apartment complexes to deposit Rs 20 crore within a month with the court-appointed committee and submit their banking details in an affidavit. The frozen bank accounts of the builders will be freed to enable them to deposit the amount.
The court asked the committee to assess the documentary proof of payments made by the flat owners to builders after some owners told the bench that they paid over Rs 25 lakh to developers.
“The SC asked the committee not to rely only on property document value but consider the actual payment made by the homebuyers. The committee assessed less compensation amount than what was paid in the applications that came before it.
“The court also said it will consider our plea to hand back the common utility materials in the affected apartment complexes,” said Shamsuddhin Karunagapally, who appeared for flat owner Dr Deepa Nair.
Meanwhile, the court rejected a plea of the Confederation of Real Estate Developers’ Association of India (CREDAI) not to demolish the flats and put them to some other use. "We are not going back from our demolition orders. This matter can't be agitated afresh. Our order is final," the bench said.
The Kerala government told the court that it had till date disbursed over Rs 10 crore as interim compensation to the flat owners.
The court had on September 27 ordered that the demolition of the flats should be completed within 138 days, a timeline given by the state government, and asked the state to pay Rs 25 lakh interim compensation to each flat owner within four weeks.
It said the government may consider recovering the interim compensation amount from the builders and the promoters. It also had ordered the setting up of a committee to oversee the demolition and assess the total compensation payable to the flat owners.
