The Chander Kunj Army Towers Apartment Owners Association (CATAOA) has demanded the immediate appointment of a dedicated project officer and the setting up of a project office to closely monitor and follow up on the impending demolition of the twin towers of the Chander Kunj Army apartments at Silver Sand Island in Vyttila.

The Association also demanded that the District Collector’s committee, formed at the instance of the Kerala High Court to oversee the demolition and reconstruction of the apartments, and the sub-committee chaired by the Fort Kochi Revenue Divisional Officer (RDO) be convened at the earliest to chart the future course of action without further delay. This follows the latest High Court order dismissing the petition of P.K. Unique Project Limited, a Tamil Nadu-based company, which had challenged the decision of the Collector’s committee to award the demolition contract to Mumbai-based Edifice Engineering.

“Bureaucrats like the District Collector and the RDO have their hands full and cannot be expected to always oversee the demolition and related work. Hence, it is imperative that a dedicated project officer with the requisite experience and a project office be set up for the work to progress smoothly,” said Saji Thomas, president of CATAOA. The Association maintained that there was no need to delay the demolition on account of the case since the court had not stayed the committee’s decision to finalise the tender in favour of Edifice Engineering.

In June, the district administration had issued an ultimatum to the Army Welfare Housing Organisation (AWHO) to sign a contract for the demolition of the towers or face legal action. “But they have not yet complied with the direction nor deposited the estimated ₹9.60 crore in the Collector’s escrow account in advance. The District Collector’s committee will be convened at the earliest to decide the future course of action,” said committee sources.

The sub-committee was formed to convene weekly reviews, realising that the Collector was too busy to do so. However, its meetings were disrupted by various factors, including local body and Assembly elections, with the last meeting held in June. That same month, Edifice Engineering and South Africa’s Jet Demolition conducted a two-day pre-demolition inspection of the towers and the larger property. The two firms had earlier overseen the demolition of the Maradu apartment complexes.

The agencies had stated that the towers could be razed sequentially in a matter of seconds without damage to the Kochi Metro passing by in the neighbourhood, though preparations for demolition and debris clearance would collectively take six months. No further action was taken after the award of the work was challenged in court.

Meanwhile, CATAOA is set to approach the Supreme Court against the denial of rent to 24 apartment owners by AWHO on the technical ground that they had failed to submit affidavits claiming eligibility to the Collector’s committee before August 12 last year, as directed. According to a High Court verdict, rent was fixed at ₹30,000 per month for apartments in the ‘B’ tower and ₹35,000 for those in the ‘C’ tower.

On February 3, 2025, a Single Bench of the Kerala High Court had ordered the demolition and reconstruction of the towers, citing serious structural problems. In August, the court disposed of a writ appeal filed by the Association and a few owners against this verdict. The Collector’s committee had set November 9, 2025, as the tentative date for the demolition of the twin towers and October 31, 2029, for handing over the newly built apartments. Even the original deadline for the evacuation of 208 owners on July 31 had to be revised, as owners declined to move out before payment of advance rent.