The spectacle demolition that will take place tomorrow will bring an end to the decade long battle between Supertech and the residents around the twin towers.
Here's a timeline of the Supertech Twin Towers
The start
Noida-based Developmental company Supterch Limited launched the construction of the project known as Emerald Court. The project was started in the mid 2000s. The project included the building of 3, 4 and 5 BHK flats.
The project was located off the expresssway that connects the twin cities of Noida and Greater Noida. According to real estate websites, the flats now have a valuation between ₹1 crore to ₹3 crore.
The project was supposed to have 14 nine-storied towers, according to the plans submitted by New Okhla Industrial Development Authority in Noida.
Change of plans
The probems started after Supertech changed the plans, which by 2012, was a complex of 15 buildings instead of 14. Each building was now supposed to have 11 stories instead of nine. The changed plan also included two more towers that would rise to 40 floors above the ground. The latter two became the heart of the decade long legal battle between the residents and Supertech.
Cemented buildings replace green patch
Supertech had promised to have a ‘green’ area in front of Tower one. According to the documents submitted in court until December 2006, this was in the plan that was first modified in June 2005.
The ‘green’ area later became the ground on which Ceyane and Apex – the Twin Towers at the heart of the fiasco – would rise.
The third revision of building plans took place in March 2012. Emerald Court was now a project consisting of 15 towers of 11 storeys, and Ceyane and Apex had their heights extended from 24 floors to 40 floors.
Legal battle commences
The residents of Emerald Court took this into cognizance and demanded that Ceyane and Apex- the twin towers be demolished as it was being constructed illegally. The residents asked the Noida Authority to cancel the approvals granted for the construction of Ceyane and Apex.
The residents then appealed to Allahabad High Court seeking that the court order the demolition of the towers. The Allahabad High Court agreed to the demands of the Emerald Court's residents. In April 2014, the high court ordered the demolition of the Noida Twin Towers.
However, Supertech appealed against the verdict and the matter reached the Supreme Court of India.
Supreme Court gives final decision
After much back and forth on both ends, the Supreme Court of India in 2021, ordered the demolition of the Noida Twin Towers citing the fact that the towers were constructed illegally.
Following this, Supertech appealed to the Supreme Court to review its order. This was followed by many hearing with the apex court. The hearings also included the concerns about the safety of Emerald Court’s residents.
The decision saw the deadline for the demolition getting pushed back periodically. However, the Supreme Court refused to budge from its stand on the issue.
Supreme Court said, the Noida Authority and Supertech had engaged in "nefarious complicity" and ordered the company to demolish the buildings at its own expense under the guidance of the Noida Authority.
The demolition
The Noida Twin Towers will be demolished on 28 August. The task will be carried out by Edifice Engineering, a Mumbai-based firm that previously demolished four illegal apartments near Kochi in Kerala.
The company will employ a technique called implosion. More than 3,700 kgs of explosives will be placed inside holes drilled in specific parts of the building structure that supports Ceyane and Apex. The detonation will take place from the ground up – that is, the explosives placed on the ground floor will go off first. Then those set on the first floor and so on.
-
