Contempt warning to AWHO over Army towers delay

Kochi: The Ernakulam district collector has warned the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) of contempt of court proceedings if it fails to sign a demolition contract for the Chandar Kunj Army Towers complex at Vyttila Silver Sand Island within a week. The ultimatum was issued at a special expert committee meeting chaired by collector J Priyanka on Tuesday. “The draft of the contract prepared by the district administration has been handed over to AWHO. They should sign it within one week. If not, AWHO should pay the entire cost of demolition, including GST in advance,” said an official statement. In that event, the district administration will directly undertake the demolition using those funds. Two separate orders, one from the collector-chaired committee and another under the disaster management act, will be issued on Wednesday, June 10. The action follows prolonged delays in executing a high court order issued on Feb 2025 directing the demolition and reconstruction of the dilapidated Towers B and C of the complex. The collector also directed AWHO to provide Rs 5 lakh within a week to fund newspaper advertisements for selecting a demolition agency. On rental compensation, 24 flat owners who have been denied payments due to document shortfalls will have their cases individually reviewed at a meeting led by the deputy collector (disaster management) on June 15. The collector instructed that rental assistance be paid in advance. Residents welfare association (RWA) sources said all 24 owners possess the required documents and have gone without rent for 10 months, adding that AWHO should clear arrears for a substantial period rather than forcing owners to repeatedly seek payments already awarded by the high court. To resolve disputes over the return of flat keys, AWHO and owners must hold a joint discussion within 15 days. Unresolved cases after that will be referred to the concerned tahsildar. Meanwhile, retired Col Ciby George, one of the flat owners, has petitioned the chief minister seeking direction for the district collector's committee to implement the court order in letter and spirit. He urged that the committee be a signatory to demolition contracts rather than delegating the entire process to AWHO, and called for greater transparency, including allowing all owners to attend committee meetings.