The Kerala High Court has directed the National Institute of Technology (NIT) Calicut to constitute an expert committee to prepare a detailed rehabilitation and retrofitting plan for the stalled LIFE Mission housing project at Charalparambu in Wadakkanchery.

A Division Bench comprising Chief Justice Soumen Sen and Justice Syam Kumar VM passed the order while considering a writ petition filed by Anil Akkara, seeking the resumption of construction of the housing project.

The direction came after the court examined a technical report submitted by NIT Calicut, which stated that although the building complex had been abandoned for nearly five years and showed evidence of poor workmanship, demolition or dismantling was not warranted.

The report recommended upgrading the existing structure. "Based on the conclusions drawn from the present investigation, it is recommended that the building be utilised for its intended purpose after necessary structural interventions through rehabilitation or retrofitting to address the identified deficiencies," the report said.

Taking note of the findings, the court directed the Director of NIT Calicut to constitute an expert committee to prepare and submit a comprehensive rehabilitation plan within four weeks. The matter has been posted for further consideration on May 18, 2026.

The LIFE Mission project at Wadakkanchery was funded by the UAE Red Crescent for families affected by the 2018 Kerala floods. However, construction of the 140 flats was stalled following allegations of corruption and maladministration.

According to the Enforcement Directorate (ED), Unitac Builders, which executed the project, allegedly paid a commission of ₹4.5 crore to middlemen, including persons described as State representatives.

During the investigation into the gold smuggling case, the ED found ₹1 crore in a joint bank locker held by Swapna Suresh and the chartered accountant of M Sivasankar, former principal secretary to Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. The agency later stated that the amount was traced to the account of Santosh Eapen, who had undertaken the construction of the LIFE Mission flats at Wadakkanchery.