Ernakulam district administration directs AWHO to take over Chander Kunj apartments from October 12

The district administration has issued a strongly worded directive to the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO), directing it to begin taking over the apartments in towers ‘B’ and ‘C’ of the Chander Kunj Army apartment complex at Silver Sand Island, Vyttila, on October 12.

The District Collector’s committee, constituted following a direction from the Kerala High Court to oversee the demolition and reconstruction of the apartments, had decided to commence the takeover of the apartments for demolition on October 5 and complete the process within a fortnight. While apartment owners from various parts of the State, along with the Revenue Divisional Officer and the tahsildar, assembled at the clubhouse of the apartment complex, AWHO representatives failed to turn up. The AWHO reportedly informed district administration officials that it was awaiting authorisation from its headquarters in Delhi.

District administration sources confirmed that such a directive had been sent to the AWHO. Owners from across the State had arrived to hand over their apartments on Monday, in accordance with a notice issued by the apartment association. They were to hand over the keys to their respective apartments along with an affidavit signed by the AWHO and countersigned by the tahsildar, affirming the AWHO’s undertaking to provide reconstructed apartments in place of the existing ones.

The AWHO, in turn, is required to hand over the apartments to the district administration for demolition. Peeved by the AWHO’s lack of response, the Chander Kunj Army Towers Apartment Owners Association (CATAOA) had called for invoking the provisions of the Disaster Management Act against it. “They didn’t even show the courtesy of informing us that they would not be turning up on Monday,” said Saji Thomas, president of CATAOA.

The District Collector’s meeting had also resolved that the district administration would sign a demolition contract with Mumbai-based Edifice Engineering later this week. The Collector’s committee met after the Kerala High Court last month dismissed a petition filed by P.K. Unique Project Limited, a Tamil Nadu-based company, challenging the committee’s decision to award the demolition contract to Edifice Engineering. The Kerala High Court had, on February 3, 2025, ordered the demolition and reconstruction of towers B and C of the Chander Kunj Army Towers, citing serious structural deficiencies in the buildings.