Noida's Supertech twin towers to be demolished: Timeline of nine-yr saga that ends 28 August

After a long-drawn court battle spanning nine years, the Supertech twin towers in Noida’s Sector 93A will be finally demolished in over nine seconds on 28 August.

Higher than even Qutub Minar, Noida twin towers– Apex (32 floors) and Ceyane (29 floors) – are 100 metres tall with 40 floors each.

Edifice Engineering, the company tasked with the demolition of the twin towers, is adhering to all the required security measures as the towers collapse “like a waterfall” at 2.30 pm on Sunday, reported NDTV.

Reacting to the news of the demolition, Uday Bhan Singh Teotia, who was at the forefront of the battle against Supertech, told PTI that he was “very, very happy”. “

This victory is a message to builders and the authorities that they cannot get away with violating laws. It is a message that they cannot ignore the concerns of residents. This is a message for all of India,” Teotia added.

Let’s look at how Supertech’s twin towers will be demolished:

What will happen on Sunday

At 6 am on Sunday, the Noida police will alert people to evacuate the nearby neigbouring Emerald Court and ATS Village societies. Half an hour later, a team of National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) will reach the site.

By 7 am, all residents – around 7,000 people, 150 pets – along with their nearly 2,500-odd cars would have vacated their buildings.

The gas and power supply will be cut at 9 am for the neighbouring residential societies.

Fifteen minutes before the blast i.e. at 2.15 pm, traffic on the Greater Noida Expressway will be halted as it falls within the 450-km no-go zone, as per NDTV.

Termed the ‘detonation point’, the remote-controlled blast will take place from the ATS Village society at 2.30 pm.

Only six people including Joe Brinkkman (head of the explosive operations),  Mayur Mehta, Marthinus Botha, Kevin Smit, Chetan Dutta and a police official will be present there, sources told Firstpost.

With the push of the blast button, Supertech twin towers, rigged with 3,700 kilogrammes of explosives, will turn to debris.

The massive dust cloud that these buildings will emanate while collapsing will settle in around 10 minutes.

Ritu Maheshwari, CEO, Noida authority said that more than 100 sanitation workers will be present at the demolition site till Tuesday to clean the dust, Hindustan Times reported.

Around 3.30 pm, NDRF, Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) and other authorities will return to where the Supertech twin towers once stood. The labourers will start collecting the debris (around 35,000 cubic metres) and dump it in designated areas across Noida over the coming days, NDTV reported.

By 4 pm, the gas and power supply will be restored and the residents will be allowed to return by 5.30 pm.

Twin towers of corruption: A timeline

2004: The New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA) allotted land for ‘Supertech Emerald Court’ housing society in Noida’s Sector 93A.

2005: The Noida authority sanctioned the building plan for Supertech’s Emerald Court project. As per the original building plan, the project has 14 towers and nine floors along with a shopping complex and garden area.

2006: In June, additional land of 6,556.51 sq m was allotted to Supertech on lease. In December that year, the original plan was revised to 15 towers with 11 floors each and 689 total flats.

2009: The plan was once again modified to include the twin skyscrapers, Apex and Ceyane, and 24 floors.

2012: The Noida authority approved the new plan, in which the height of the twin towers was fixed at 40 floors. In December, Emerald Court Owners Residents Welfare Association (RWA) moved the Allahabad High Court saying the construction was illegal.

2014: The Allahabad High Court ruled that the twin towers are illegal, ordering their demolition.

The court also asked the builder to refund flat buyers’ payments with an interest rate of 14 per cent. The court observes that Noida Authority officials collaborated with the builder to construct the twin towers.

The Noida Authority and Supertech approach the Supreme Court claiming the construction is not illegal, while the homebuyers too knocked at the court’s door seeking a refund or an order to shift them to another project.

2021: On 31 August, the apex court upheld the verdict of the Allahabad High Court and ordered the demolition of the twin towers within three months.

2022: The demolition gets delayed by a year and is now finally scheduled for 28 August.

With inputs from agencies

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