The Madras High Court on Tuesday constituted a committee comprising two of its retired judges to ensure smooth evacuation of 472 flat owners from three 17-storey towers of Jains Westminster apartments, at Saligramam in Chennai, that had become unsafe to reside due to chloride erosion, and accommodate them in rented premises until the reconstruction of the project.
Justices S.S. Sundar and N. Senthilkumar ordered that the committee comprising K.N. Basha and K. Kannan would work out the modalities utilising the initial deposit of ₹25 crore made by Jain Housing and Constructions Limited for being used to pay security deposit as well as monthly rental. They said the rental accommodation must be provided within a radius of 5 km as far as possible.
In so far as the flat owners who do not require any alternative accommodation, if they had kept their flats at Jain Westminster either vacant or rented them out, such persons could be paid a fair monthly rent as compensation after they vacate their tenants, the Bench said. They left it to the committee to decide the quantum of such fair rent and directed the builder to cooperate in the entire process.
