Supertech Twin Towers in Noida: What you need to about India's tallest structures ever to be demolished

The preparations are almost done and in a little over 48 hours, the Supertech's Twin Towers in Noida's Sector 93A will be demolished. Apex (32 storeys) and Ceyane (29 storeys) towers will be razed on August 28 at 2.30 pm.

Explosives have already been installed in the towers and it will become India's highest structures ever to be demolished.

Seven years after the Allahabad High Court ordered the demolition of the buildings over the violation of UP Apartment Owners Act, 2010, the Supreme Court upheld the judgment on August 31, 2021. And finally, in 2022, the towers are being demolished.

The demolition: The demolition of the towers would be done through a controlled implosion technique. Over 3,700 kg of explosive will be used in the demolition process.

• Mumbai-based Edifice Engineering along with their South African partner firm Jet Demolitions is carrying out the job.
• "It will take nine to 10 seconds for all the explosives to blast in a series making a loud noise. After the blasts, the structures won't come down all at once and would take four to five seconds to come down completely," Edifice Engineering partner Utkarsh Mehta told PTI.

The debris: The demolition of the towers would leave behind 55,000 tonnes of debris. Around 1,200 to 1,300 truck-loads of debris would have to be moved out from the site.It will be disposed off in line with the Waste Management Rules, 2016.

"The 21,000 cubic metres of the debris would be moved out and dumped at an isolated land measuring five to six hectares in city's work circle seven limits and the remaining would get accommodated in the basement areas of the Twin Towers where a pit has been made," Noida Authority's General Manager (Planning) Ishtiaq Ahmed told PTI.

Safety measures: As a precaution, the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway will remain shut for vehicular movement from 2.15 pm to 2.45 pm on August 28.

Entry of people, vehicles and animals will be restricted in the close proximity area of the Twin Towers on the day.

Evacuation: Over 5,000 residents of the nearby Emerald Court and ATS Village societies will have to vacate the premises by 7.30 am on August 28. They can return only after 4 pm when Edifice Engineering gives the safety clearance.

Around 1,200 vehicles belonging to residents of the two housing societies will also be removed from the premises. The Noida Authority will provide space for them in the multilevel parking facility at Botanical Garden metro station, an official told PTI.

Why are the towers being demolished? Supertech's Emerald Court project had 3, 4 and 5 BHK apartments ranging from Rs 1 crore, 31 lakh to Rs 3 crore, 24 lakh.

• In 2012, the project's Residents Welfare Association (RWA) approached the Allahabad HC claiming that the Twin Towers violated UP Apartment Owners Act, 2010. The RWA told the court the towers were constructed over an area marked as a garden in brochure and the distance between the buildings were less than the mandated 16 metre.
• Following this, the Allahabad HC had ordered the demolition of the towers, and had asked the company to refund money to buyers at 14 per cent interest rate. The court also found that Noida Authority officials colluded with the builders.

Refund status: Following the demolition order, the court had also asked Supertech to refund money to buyers at 14 per cent interest rate. Out of 711 home buyers, 652 have received the refund amount while 59 flat buyers are yet to receive the money, reported Aaj Tak.

• The refund was to be made by the company by adding the interest rate to the booking amount or the current market value of the flats. March 31 was the deadline for Supertech to make the refunds.
• After filing for insolvency on March 25, Supertech told that they don't have the money to make the refunds to the home buyers.

• The SC on Friday began hearing a case where certain homebuyers who had paid for flats and are yet to get the refund. The Counsel for petitioner said that a total amount is Rs 5.15 crore is pending.

• The court in the last hearing stated that in case a homebuyer has taken a bank loan the same has to be settled by developer. There are 38 such buyers who had paid up for their flat in the twin tower, reported India Today.

A warning for builders: The final judgment of demolition on the Supertech's Twin Towers is a warning signal for builders who violate construction and building norms in collusion with local authorities. The apex court gave a message with the judgment, that, now matter how big the project is, if it has been constructed illegally, it has to go down.

The SC bench, during its judgment had said that the protection of the environment and the well-being and safety of those who occupy these constructions should not be compromised with.