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.