Consider paying for maintenance: Supreme Court to Adarsh Society

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society to consider bearing the expenses to be incurred on maintenance of the 28-storey scam-tainted building, whose possession has been handed over to the Centre in pursuance to the Apex Court’s order.

The observation came from a bench of Justices J. Chelameswar and A.M. Sapre when the counsel for the housing society said the Centre be asked to ensure maintenance of the building as there was no power connection and hence, the lifts are not working and there would be safety concerns in case of any mis-happening.

Various equipment including lifts, power generator, fire-fighting equipment and a pump house, installed in the apartment premises, are not working at present, the counsel for the society said.

“You will have to bear the expenditure to be incurred on maintenance, only then we will ask the Centre,” the bench said, adding, “The choice is with you. If you want to pay, then we will ask the Centre to do the needful.”

During the hearing, the bench also said if the society won the case, why would it ask the Centre to pay for maintenance. The court asked the counsel for the housing society to take instruction and appraise it on September 2 as to whether it was willing to pay for the maintenance. Meanwhile, the Centre told the Apex Court that it has not yet received the entire possession of the building as out of 104 flats, 93 are locked and the keys are not with it.

The SC had on July 22 asked the Centre to secure possession of Adarsh apartments, built at Colaba in posh South Mumbai locality, for Kargil war heroes and war widows, after taking its possession from the housing society by August 5. The bench had also said that the word “secure” meant that there would be no razing.

It had also issued notices on a batch of pleas, filed against the Bombay high court decision ordering demolition, by the housing society and some allottees. Earlier, the high court had ordered demolition of the apartments and sought initiation of criminal proceedings against politicians and bureaucrats for “misuse” of powers, holding that the tower was illegally constructed.

Solicitor general Ranjit Kumar had said that the building in question was built on defence land and the director of military estate or his nominee would take over its possession. The high court, while ordering demolition, had stayed the operation for 12 weeks of its order to pull down the building close to the sea at Colaba, to enable the society to move the apex court with the appeal. In its order, the HC bench had asked the ministry of environment and forest to carry out the demolition at the expense of petitioners (Adarsh Society).