Kochi Authorities Cut Power, Water Supply to Apartments Under SC Scanner for Violating Coastal Norms
Kochi: Power and water supply lines were disconnected on Thursday at the four apartment complexes in Kochi, which the Supreme Court has ordered to be demolished for violating coastal norms, amid protests by residents as the Kerala government started implementing the top court order.
Power supply was disconnected at around 5 am amid heavy police presence, a day after the Kerala State Electricity Board pasted notice on the walls of the four complexes in Maradu municipality informing residents about its decision.
Water supply was stopped a few hours later, said residents of the apartments, who protested calling it human rights violation.
The action comes days after the Kerala government was pulled up by the Supreme Court for not complying with its order to raze the buildings.
The government held a meeting on Tuesday and decided to write to the Kerala State Electricity Board and Kerala Water Authority to disconnect power and water supply to the apartments with immediate effect.
Challenging the authorities' move, the flat owners brought large generators on vehicles to the apartments to solve the power crisis.
They also brought drinking water through tanker lorries. The flat owners said they would not leave the flats as they have nowhere else to go even, as the Ernakulam district administration assured them that they would be rehabilitated.
The district administration made an appeal to the residents to cooperate with them in implementing the apex court court order.
Necessary arrangements for their rehabilitation have been made in cooperation with the Maradu municipal authorities, the administration said.
The elderly and the ill staying in the flats should be shifted to alternative facilities at the earliest, it said. "Our basic rights are denied. Our right to food,
shelter... everything. We did no wrong yet we are punished," a woman resident of one of the flats said, flaying the authorities' move to evacuate them from their houses.
The residents said they would continue to stay put in the flats which they brought from the builders spending their lifetime savings.
"We will not leave our flats. We will intensify the agitation against the human rights violations," a representative of the flat owners said.
Meanwhile, all eyes are on the Supreme Court which has said it would pass a detailed order on September 27 on the issue.
The Court, which considered the matter on September 23, has sought a concrete action plan from the state government on removal of illegal structures.
It has also directed the Chief Secretary to file a fresh affidavit.
The court directive came after it observed that the chief secretary in the affidavit filed on September 23 had not specified as to how much time was needed to comply with the apex court orders to demolish the four apartment complexes.
"Officials are taking steps to throw us out on the streets. We are not the culprits. We will not leave our homes. We will stay here," a representative of the flat owners had said on Wednesday.
In a bid to carry out the implementation of the Supreme Court order on demolition, the Kerala government has given additional charge of Maradu Municipality secretary to
Fort Kochi Sub-Collector Snehil Kumar Singh.
Acting on the complaints of flat owners, police have registered FIRs against three builders, who constructed apartments in violation of Coastal Regulation Zone rules.
Police have also frozen around 60 bank accounts of the three builders who constructed the apartment complexes violating CRZ rules in Maradu municipal area.
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