Kochi: The government will start evicting the residents of the Maradu flats from Sunday despite their seeking more time to vacate the premises. Chief Secretary Tom Jose told reporters in Kochi on Saturday that the government will move ahead with the action plan prepared and submitted to the Supreme Court. The interim compensation of Rs 25 lakh to the apartment owners will be paid in a time-bound manner, he said.
Mr. Jose reviewed the situation at a a high-level meeting here attended by the district collector, police commissioner and the newly- appointed Maradu municipal secretary.
The residents submitted a letter to the government to expedite the payment of the compensation and give them more time to vacate the flats. They also sought completion of their data collection before the eviction and threatened to launch a hunger strike if attempts were made to evict them forcibly.
Mr. Jose informed that steps to confiscate the properties of the builders had been initiated. The banks were also instructed to freeze the accounts of the builders, he said.
The demolition will be started on October 11 and finished by January 9, 2020. The time schedule to evict the residents is from September 29 to October 3.
The Maradu municipality has submitted a complaint to the state government that the new secretary Snehil Kumar Singh was not doing any duty other than the work connected with the demolition.
He also did not attend a meeting of the municipal council on Saturday leading to heated arguments between members of the ruling and opposition benches.
Mr. Singh told the municipal council that he was appointed only to demolish the flats and that he would not be able to do the other duties of the municipal secretary.
