In the biggest demolition case that India has ever witnessed, Noida Supertech Twin Towers (Apex and Ceyane) were destroyed in just 9 seconds. The Supertech Twin Towers were said to be the highest skyscrapers in India that were torn down to pieces after the order issued by the Supreme Court of India. The height of the Twin Towers, Apex and Ceyane were 103 metres and 97 metres respectively, higher than Delhi’s Qutub Minar.
After the 9-year-old battle, the illegal Twin Towers were razed to the ground in just 9 seconds. But the question that arises here is why the Supreme court issued an order to destroy a building that was built with a cost of over ₹ 70 crores. Let us walk you through the timeline of the Supertech Twin Towers and what actually went wrong.
The Beginning of the Clash
The story began when a Noida-based developmental Company, Supertech Limited launched its project ‘Emerald Court’ in 2004. Located in Noida Sector 93A, the location of this construction project was close to the expressway connecting Greater Noida to Noida.
The project was sanctioned by the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority in Noida for 14 towers with 9 floors each in 2004. The project incorporated 3,4 and 5 BHK flats in the building and the estimated valuation was set in the range of ₹1 crore to ₹3 crore.
Where Things Go Wrong?
The problem arose when Supertech changed the building blueprints, which by 2012 had 15 buildings instead of 14. In which there were 11 storeys instead of 9. In addition to this, two more towers were added to the revised proposal.
Supertech not just revised the building blueprint but also replaced the reserved green space area that the company pledged to have in front of Tower One. This green area was later converted into the famous Twin Towers – Ceyane and Apex.
And in 2012, the third revision in the blueprint of the building took place that showed Emerald Court as a project of 15 towers of 11 storeys each with twin towers, Ceyane and Apex. The height of the twin towers was also extended from 24 floors to 40 floors above the ground.
Commencement Of The Legal Battle
The residents of Emerald Court raised the concern that the Twin Towers were built violating all the fire safety, open spaces and building code norms and it was an illegal construction. Emerald Court Resident Welfare Association appealed to the Allahabad High Court for the illegal structure of the building. In 2014, the High Court ordered the demolition of the building agreeing to the demands of the residents.
To counter the High Court’s order, Supertech pled against the verdict in the Supreme Court. After the long battle that started in 2014, the Supreme Court gave its final verdict claiming Supertech for the illegal construction and ordered the demolition of the Twin Towers in 2021.
The date of demolition got delayed because Supertech appealed to the court once again to review its order. After multiple hearings that also included concerns about the safety of Emerald Court’s residents, the Supreme Court refused to change its stand on the matter. The Supreme Court ordered the company to demolish the building at its own expense.
40-Storey Building Brought Down In 9 Seconds
The 40-storey Twin Towers were demolished on August 28, 2022, by a Mumbai-based company, Edifice Engineering. The demolition of the building was carried out by the technique called ‘Implosion’. Over 3700 kgs of explosives were used to bring down the entire building of Twin Tower. The explosives were fixed in such a manner that the explosion took place ground up.
The Impacts Of Demolition
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Economical Impacts
The demolition of the Twin Towers came at a greater monetary cost for the Supertech company. The Supreme Court ordered the Supertech company to refund the entire amount of home buyers with 12% from the time of the booking. Apart from this, additional ₹ 2 crores are to be paid to RWA of Emerald Court for the harassment caused due to the Twin Towers.
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Environmental Impacts
The destruction of the Twin Towers resulted in 54,000 tonnes of debris, an increase in noise pollution upto 150 dB and also formed dust clouds that go up to 4 km. According to the reports, it will take nearly three months to clean 54,000 tonnes of debris from the site.
A huge cloud of dust erupted in the environment when the building was crashing down on the ground. However, the authority cleaned the site of demolition with the help of 6 mechanical sweeping machines, 22 anti-smog guns & 700 workers and 100 water tankers available on the site for sprinkling water.
The Precautionary Steps By The Authority
The authority issued advisories to prevent any casualties and minimise the impacts on the citizens residing in the nearby areas. The preventive steps taken by the authorities were:
- An exclusion zone was created before the demolition and no person or animal was allowed to enter this zone except the team engaging in the demolition-related activity. A radius of the 500-metre zone was marked around the Twin Towers for the exclusion zone.
- The air space of the area was also unavailable for flights or drones at the time of demolition.
- The residents and pets were evacuated for safety measures on Sunday (28th August 2022) morning from the neighbouring societies. Stray dogs were evacuated with the help of the volunteers.
- A team of over 500 police and traffic personnel were deployed at the site to oversee the situation.
- Noida-Greater Noida Expressway was made unavailable for the public during the demolition hours (2:15 to 2:45).
- The authority disrupted the electricity and gas connections in the nearby areas to ensure security measures.
- Residents of neighbouring societies were allowed to return to their homes after 6:30 in the evening only after permission from authorities.
Noida Authority CEO, Ritu Maheshwari stated that the Twin Tower demolition was largely successful. Officials confirmed that no injuries or damages are reported because of the Twin Tower demolition. The illegal structure finally comes down to rubble after waiting for 9 long years and finally, justice meets its end.
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