KOCHI: A resident of Maradu flat moved the High Court questioning the act of demolishing the flat when the deadline to evacuate ends tomorrow. The Supreme Court had asked to raze the flats. He mentioned in the plea that the notice issued by the municipality was not legal. The notice had given residents five days’ time to evacuate. As the time had ended, another notice was stuck asking them to inform whether temporary rehabilitation facilities were needed. The deadline for it had also ended.

There are a total of 375 families in the flats. A decision had not been taken on where to accommodate them. Flat owners are confused on the fresh plea filed challenging municipal secretary's eviction notice. The Supreme Court had directed state’s chief secretary to submit a report after demolishing the flats by September 20. As the deadline ends tomorrow, there is confusion in which manner the chief secretary should proceed with the report.

Meantime, there are reports that solicitor general Tushar Mehta will not appear for the state in the Maradu flat case. He has informed the advocate of the government his inconvenience to appear against the directive to implement the Supreme Court verdict. The notice was stuck in the flats as per his advice.

Unconfirmed reports say the government decided to produce senior advocate and legal expert R Venkataraman in the case. Meanwhile, Bengaluru-based company has approached the apex court claiming to demolish the flat in two months. A plea filed by Accurate Demolishers Company has stated that if court permits demolition could begin within a week. Though tenders were called for demolition of the flat, there was no progress in government's actions. The total cost of demolishing the flat is estimated to Rs 30 crore. The company also informed the court that the flat can be demolished without any pollution.