The builders and promoters of the four illegal apartment complexes have been found holding significant number of housing units in each building, which are being readied for demolition.
A preliminary estimate showed that the builders owned around 10% of the total number of apartments in each complex. The exact number of apartment units owned by the builders and other individuals will be known shortly as the Maradu municipality has started drawing up the list of owners as entered in its records.
Altogether, there are 343 housing units in the apartments, H2O Holy Faith, Alfa Serene, Golden Kayaloram, and Jain Coral Cove. Initial estimate revealed that 198 families had occupied the apartments. Of this, a few had taken the apartments on rent.
Though the Supreme court had ordered the State government to pay ₹25 lakh each to the apartment owners who lose their homes as initial compensation, the benefit of the court decision will not be extended to the apartment owners since the court had ordered the attachment of their properties and bank accounts. Moreover, the court had made it clear that the money shall be recovered from the builders and promoters of the buildings.
The decision will save around ₹10 crore for the State government, which is finding it hard to raise the funds for relief payment, which had to be disbursed in four weeks.
The exact number of owners and the quantum of compensation to be disbursed can be ascertained only after the apartment owners furnishing their claims. Compensation will be paid only to those owners who produce the relevant ownership records. The documents thus produced by the apartment owners will be verified with the municipal records to ascertain its genuineness.
It was earlier estimated that the government may have to shell out around ₹100 crore as compensation for the apartment owners. The State may have to mop up its resources for paying out the compensation though the apex court had ordered that the State can recover the amount from the builders.
The builders would also be made to pay for the demolition of the buildings, removal and disposal of the debris and cleaning up the four sites by applying the legal principle, polluter pay, said an official.
