The committee constituted by the District Collector at the instance of the Kerala High Court to oversee the demolition and reconstruction of the twin towers of the Chander Kunj Army Towers on Silversand Island, Vytilla, will visit the site on Saturday (February 15).

A decision to this effect was taken at the maiden meeting of the committee chaired by District Collector N.S.K. Umesh at the collectorate here on Thursday (February 13). The committee comprised the Deputy Collector (District Disaster Management Authority), two representatives of residents’ association of the towers, a structural engineer, an engineer from the municipality concerned, and an officer from the Town Planning department.

“Anil Joseph, who was associated with the demolition of apartment complexes at Maradu, has been roped in as the structural engineer. The managing director of AWHO [Army Welfare Housing Organisation] is expected to visit the city next week, based on which a second meeting of the committee will be held that week itself. Mr. Joseph will make a presentation on explosive technologies and options for the proposed demolition at the meeting. Among other things, the committee will also have to assess the impact of the proposed demolition of towers B and C on the remaining tower A,” said Mr. Umesh.

In its verdict dated February 3, 2025, the Kerala High Court had ordered the demolition of the towers developed by AWHO citing serious structural problems. Justice C.P. Mohammed Nias had issued the order “to prevent casualties and protect lives and properties.” The order came on a batch of writ petitions filed by the association of owners of the two towers as well as some owners. The court also ordered the constitution of a committee by the District Collector.

Chander Kunj Welfare and Maintenance Society, a ‘rebel’ association of apartment owners, chose to stay away from the committee meeting on legal grounds. “We plan to appeal the court order. So, the legal opinion we received was not to attend the meeting so as not to give the impression that we were happy about the order,” said Sajie Shankar, president of the association.

However, the Collector made it clear that whether rebel or official association, everyone faced the same level of threat and hence would have to be evacuated. The two apartment owners who attended the meeting conveyed their objection to the rent fixed by the court for alternative accommodation until reconstruction. The court directed AWHO to pay apartment owners of towers B and C ₹21,000 and ₹23,000 respectively.

It was also decided to invite a representative of the controller of explosives, Kochi Metro Rail Limited, since the metro line passes adjacent to the towers to be demolished, and the Fire and Rescue Services department to the next meeting of the committee.