After 100 days of protests, Mundamveli P&T Apartment residents await breakthrough at key Keralam govt meet on rehabilitation

Residents stage a day-long hunger strike in front of the P&T Apartment complex at Mundamveli on October 31, 2026 to mark the 100th day of their protest. | Photo Credit: THULASI KAKKAT A high-level meeting is set to be held in Kochi on Saturday (November 7, 2026) to discuss the rehabilitation of the 78 families of the P&T Apartment Complex at Mundamveli, Ernakulam, who have been on an indefinite stir that completed 100 days earlier this week.The move comes after Kochi MLA Mohammed Shiyas met Minister for Local Self-Government K.M. Shaji along with P&T Apartment Protest Committee president Abhilash P. Parameswaran on Wednesday in Thiruvananthapuram. The committee had threatened to further intensify its agitation over the alleged slow pace of progress on their demand for permanent rehabilitation and compensation.“The Minister has tasked two department-level secretaries with finding a solution to the plight of the residents. The Minister himself is likely to attend the meeting,” said Mr. Shiyas, who had handed over a memorandum listing the residents’ demands to the Minister.3 potential optionsWhile three potential options are before the Keralam government for the rehabilitation of the residents, the protest committee insists that the government identify land, construct a new housing project free of the problems that plague the Mundamveli apartment complex, and hand it over to the beneficiaries. The other options are a one-time financial assistance package for the affected residents and government’s financial support for the housing project.“The other two options may further plunge the families into debt through housing loans, endangering the future of their children. Additionally, almost all the families have already accumulated considerable debt, including for healthcare expenses, during their woeful life at the apartment complex over the last two-and-a-half years. So, a one-time financial assistance package may ultimately be used to clear that debt,” said Mr. Parameswaran.Families concerned over the perceived slow pace of progress on their demand for permanent rehabilitation remain hopeful that Saturday’s meeting will give a much-needed push to the matter. Suspected radiation from the 110 kV extra high-tension (EHT) line passing near the twin towers remains one of the major concerns of the families regarding their continued stay in the apartment complex.Vigilance probe onThe State government had ordered a Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) probe into the alleged corruption behind the apartment complex. A VACB team led by DySP P. Rajkumar visited the apartment complex as part of a preliminary inquiry on October 5.The Greater Cochin Development Authority (GCDA) had constructed the complex, comprising two four-storey towers, at an estimated cost of over ₹14.62 crore to rehabilitate 77 families from the now-demolished flood-prone P&T Colony in the Gandhi Nagar division of the Kochi Corporation. The project was jointly funded under PMAY, the LIFE Mission and Cochin Smart Mission Limited. Published - November 05, 2026 12:23 pm IST