The Supreme Court on Monday directed the residents on the three illegal floors of Santosha Complex in Bandar Bagicha to vacate within a week.

A majority of residents concerned told The Telegraph that they had begun looking for rented accommodation instead of launching further protests and attempting to stop the implementing agencies (Patna Municipal Corporation, police and district administration) from carrying out the demolition.

PMC commissioner Abhishek Singh said he had not received the copy of the court's order. "However, we have come to know that the court has ordered the residents of the illegally built flats in the apartment to vacate within a week. PMC is not responsible to get the flats vacated. It will only demolish the illegal structures. If the residents fail to vacate within the stipulated time, it will amount to contempt of court. The PMC will observe the developments and act accordingly."

On July 8, the residents prevented the administration representatives from entering the apartment and engaged in a face-off with the officials for more than eight hours.

The flat owners claimed not to have been given compensation as directed by the apex court.

Officials, however, had claimed that the builder had deposited Rs 25 crore as penalty with the Supreme Court's registrar and that flat owners were refusing to take it.

Kumar Tripurari Singh, a flat owner, said: "The directive orders the affected parties to collect the compensation amount from the court itself. We have got no option but to follow the order. We are contacting brokers and getting flats on rent or contacting relatives and requesting help. The demolition order affects around 18 families. If the court asks us to collect the compensation from the court registrar, we have to do it."

The flat owners had also complained that PMC had not engaged any expert agency to demolish the three illegal floors, risking other flats as well.

Subodh Goyal, who owns a flat on a lower floor, was worried. "We are waiting to receive the court order to study it. If PMC does not engage an expert agency for the demolition, our flats will get affected. Though I am not directly concerned, my flat will suffer too."

Following the July 18 standoff, the administration had lodged police complaints against the protesters and had sent a report on the events to the court. "Residents can say anything they want to. But PMC has planned out the demolition in five to six phases and have experts for the same. The plan was submitted to the apex court. It has not commented," said the PMC commissioner.

The Supreme Court, in its earlier verdicts, ordered complete demolition of the seventh, eighth and ninth floors, of the balcony of every flat from the second to sixth floors, two-thirds of the ground floor and several other structures in the compound inside the boundary wall.