KOCHI: The National Institute of Technology (NIT) Kozhikode has recommended that structures built under the LIFE Mission housing project in Wadakkancherry, Thrissur, be used for their intended purpose after necessary structural modifications, such as rehabilitation or retrofitting, to rectify identified issues.
The report noted that while the buildings have been neglected for the past five years and show signs of poor craftsmanship, demolition is not necessary. This report was submitted by the state government to the Kerala High Court in response to a petition from Congress leader Anil Akkara urging the resumption of halted construction on the project.
In the affidavit, N P Leena, additional secretary of the local self-government department, assured that the state would promptly review the report and act accordingly based on the court’s directives. The petition was adjourned to October 6 by Chief Justice Nitin Jamdar and Justice Basant Balaji.
Earlier, the NIT was tasked with assessing the structural integrity of the buildings following a construction halt in 2020. Their report indicated that, despite some overall soundness, numerous instances of poor workmanship were apparent.
Issues such as ‘honeycombing’ at beam-column junctions were prevalent across all buildings. Several beams showed sagging, columns were found leaning, and some exhibited irregular reinforcement cages.
Akkara emphasized in his petition that 140 families stand to benefit from the project and urged that further delays could harm them. In 2019, the UAE-based Red Crescent had partnered with the LIFE Mission to build housing complexes at Charalparambu, awarding the contract to Unitac Builders and Sane Ventures.
However, following the arrest of M Sivasankar, then principal secretary to the chief minister, amid a gold smuggling case, allegations of FCRA violations emerged, halting construction in September 2020. At that point, the framework for all residential apartments and the hospital block had been completed, with partition work underway.
