The Kerala High Court upheld the tender for the demolition of Chander Kunj Army Towers

The Kerala High Court has cleared the tender conducted by the District Collectorate Committee to plan and carry out the demolition of two towers containing a total of 208 flats in the Chander Kunj Army Housing Complex in Vyttila. The residential complex consisting of three towers was developed by the Army Social Housing Organization (AWHO).

Justice AA Ziyad Rahman on Wednesday (September 9) dismissed two petitions filed by competitors in the tender — PK Unique Projects Pvt. Ltd. and P. Ponulingam representing Sree Kumaran Demolishers – challenged the awarding of the bid by Edifice Engineering, which stood first as per the criteria laid down by the committee.

The court had earlier temporarily stayed the demolition and ordered the city administration to continue with the preparatory work but wait for the execution until the petitioner’s claims are decided.

PK Unique Projects placed third in the overall rating while Sree Kumaran Demolishers did not move from the technical rating. The former claimed that the criteria and weighting were decided after the financial bid to give Edifice an advantage and the latter claimed that they were not allowed to submit a financial bid despite being qualified.

The District Collector said the criteria were decided based on expert recommendations, giving 70% weightage to technical evaluation and 30% to financial evaluation. The criteria addressed safety concerns for the planned controlled demolition, leaving the third tower of the Chanderkunj complex and the nearby Kochi Metro viaduct unscathed.

A construction expert involved in the evaluation process said Edifice Engineering secured the top spot due to its previous experience in controlled demolition of Hotel President Clarion, Jain Coral Cove and H20 Holy Faith in Maradu with heights ranging from 51 to 60 meters, demolition of Supertech Twin Tower in Noida and Raheja Commercial Building in Hyderabad.

The district administration argued that the selection criteria were set before the financial bids were announced, emphasizing the technical evaluation and its importance in ensuring that surrounding buildings were not damaged.

The court noted that the criteria were clearly stated in the expression of interest and the minutes of the pre-bid meeting and found it clear that the bid was never meant to be a financial process. It rejected PK Unique Project’s claim that the criteria were introduced subsequent to the financial bid, overlooking their lowest bid.

Noting the serious structural problems and the threat it posed to people and property, the Supreme Court ordered the demolition and reconstruction of the two Chanderkunj towers.

Published – 11 Sep 2026 20:33 IST