On Sunday (August 28) Supertech Twin Towers are set to be demolished and its preparations are now complete. Developer Supertech is facing a loss of around Rs 1,000 crore due to the demolition of the Emerald Court project in Noida. About Rs 20 crore is also needed to demolish the building. So, why are buildings being demolished? description:
The Twin Towers (namely Apex and Cayenne) are located in Sector 93A, Noida. The height of one building is 103 meters, while the other is about 97 meters high. About 3700 kg of explosives brought from Palwal (Haryana) will be used for the demolition. It is a mixture of dynamite, emulsion and plastic explosives.
Why Twin Towers are set to be demolished
The ‘Supertech Emerald Court’ housing society in Noida, comprising two towers, was proposed to be built in 2004. The Noida Authority allotted a plot of land of 48,263 square meters, which was a part of Plot No. Sector 93A.
In 2005, the Noida Authority approved the building plan for the construction of Emerald Court which consists of 14 towers, each with the ground and nine floors (G+9). The construction of these 14 towers has started.
In June 2006, the total lease area allotted to the company increased to 54,819.51 square metres. Under the rules, the floor area ratio was also increased from 1.5 to 2 for new allottees after 2006.
In December 2006, Noida approved the first revised plan for the Emerald Court under NBR 2006, by which two additional floors were added, bringing them all to the ground and 11 floors (G+11). In addition, additional buildings were also approved – Tower 15, Tower 16 and a shopping complex.
In 2012, the Noida Authority reviewed the new plan, which fixed the height of the twin towers at 40 storeys.
In August 2021, the Supreme Court ordered the demolition of the structures because their construction violated the minimum distance requirement. According to the court, the buildings were illegally constructed without the consent of the individual flat owners as required under the UP Apartments Act.
The top court also said that Supertech and Noida Authority are indulging in a “nefarious collusion”. It then ordered Supertech to demolish the buildings at its own expense under the guidance of the Noida Authority.
In 2014, the court had directed the authority to demolish the buildings within 4 months at its own expense.
An engineering firm selected by Supertech Group for demolition of the Emerald Court Twin Towers shared a detailed plan about the demolition exercise in a meeting with the Noida Authority on December 16 and said the entire exercise would take six months to complete.
“A detailed presentation was given to the Noida authority regarding the demolition of the twin towers. The entire process may take more than six months to complete,” sources said.
The meeting, which lasted for about one and a half hours, was attended by officials of the Noida Authority, three members of the Emerald Court’s Residents Welfare Association and an expert representing the Central Building and Research Institute (CBRI).
Sources who attended the meeting said engineering firm Edifice has said it may take three months to demolish the twin towers and three-and-a-half months to clear the debris from the site.
The company was also involved in the demolition of buildings in Kochi. Sources said a case study submitted by the company showed that a 108-metre-tall building in South Africa was brought down safely through the blast, though it was 7.8 meters away from the nearest structure. The nearest building to house the Emerald Court Case is nine meters away.
Experts from the Central Building and Research Institute (CBRI) will look into the plans to be submitted by the engineering firm. The Supreme Court had asked the authority to keep the CBRI in the loop to ensure that the demolition took place in a safe manner.
On August 31, the Supreme Court had ordered the demolition of two towers in violation of building bylaws. It had set a three-month deadline for the demolition, which ended on November 30.
The case pertains to realty firm Supertech, which is illegally constructing over 900 flats in its Emerald Court housing project complex and two 40-storey towers with 21 shops in the towers.
Residents of the housing project claimed that their consent was not taken for the twin towers being built in violation of norms and moved the court. The Allahabad High Court had ordered the demolition of the Twin Towers in 2014 and the Supreme Court upheld the decision in 2021.
In October, Supertech Group informed the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (Noida) that it would need more than the stipulated three months to demolish its two multi-storey illegal towers in the city.
The real estate group had cited the opinion of top experts to review the demolition plan of two under-construction towers in Noida’s Sector 93A and will seek extension of time from the Supreme Court for safe demolition.
The Supreme Court on October 4 rejected Supertech’s application to save one of the two 40-storey towers in the Emerald Court project in Noida, which was ordered to be demolished on August 31 over serious illegalities.
Supertech had approached the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the demolition, saying it had an alternative plan that could save several crores of rupees from wastage and also prove to be “environmentally beneficial”.
Following the Supreme Court’s decision in August and the Uttar Pradesh government’s directions, Noida has also initiated action in the matter and filed an FIR against 26 of its own executives, including retired, four directors of Supertech Group and two architects.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court hearing on the Twin Tower demolition case, scheduled for December 16, has been adjourned till January 12, 2022.