Author : FAZILA 1ST YR. BA.LLB. (HONS.) SHARDA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF LAW JUNE 2024
Abstract
The demolition of Noida’s Super-tech twin towers, which took place on August 28, 2022, followed a nine-year legal battle. The Supreme Court of India has ordered the demolition of Apex and Ceyane Towers, parts of the Emerald Court housing estate, for gross violations of building regulations by Super-tech Limited and the Noida Authority. The towers were lowered with 3,700 kilograms of explosives in a controlled collapse, ensuring minimal damage to the environment. The legal conflict began when residents of Emerald Court challenged the construction, citing illegal changes to the original plans and encroachment on green space. The Supreme Court’s decision included compensation for affected property owners, marking an important enforcement of building regulations and legal accountability in the Indian real estate industry.
Introduction
After a nine-year legal battle, the twin towers of Delhi’s famous Qutub Minar were brought down with 3,700 kilograms of explosives in just nine seconds using a waterfall shockwave technique. On August 28, 2022, at 2:30 p.m., the structures fell like a house of cards.
The building on the property of the Emerald Court Society was found to be in violation of the law and was later ordered to be demolished by the Supreme Court. The company will demolish the structures at its own cost apart from the help of the Noida authority.
Noida Super-tech Twin Towers, also known as Apex Tower and Ceyane Tower, were unfinished residential buildings in Sector 93A in Noida and Uttar Pradesh, India. The buildings were part of the Emerald Court housing estate owned by housing company Super-tech Limited.
Each had to be 40 stories. Both buildings were of different heights. At 32 stories and 103 meters high, Apex towered over Ceyane, which had 29 stories and was 97 meters high. It was an illegal construction because the minimum distance requirement was violated. It was built on the green area of their Emerald Court multi-storey residential complex.
Super-tech is a construction company owned and managed by R.K Arora. He built two residential complexes in twin towers in Sector 93A, Noida.
History behind the demolition of the twin towers
In the mid-2000s, developer Super-tech Limited in Noida began construction of the Emerald Court project. As part of the project, it was planned to build three-, four- and five-room apartments.
The location of the Twin Towers was very attractive. The expressway connecting Noida and Greater Noida was not far from the construction site. According to real estate websites, the flat was valued at Rs. 1 crore and Rs. 3 million. The designs for the project, which included plans for 14 nine-story buildings, were submitted by the Noida-based New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (Noida Twin Towers).
In 2012, Super-tech Limited changed the plan, leading to a lawsuit. Super-tech Limited has decided that the complex of 14 nine-storey buildings will now be built into 15 eleven-storey buildings. In addition, the revised proposal included two additional towers with a total height of 40 floors (previously 24 floors). In a decade-long legal battle between residents and Super-tech, it became the focus of the latter two.
Before Tower One, Super-tech promised to have a “green” space. It was included in the plan, which was originally amended from June 2005 to December 2006, according to court documents. The “green” area later became the base of Ceyane and Apex and became a centre of conflict.
Twin Towers Court Dispute
Residents of Emerald Court noticed this and requested the removal of Ceyane and Apex Twin Towers because they were built illegally. Residents have asked the Noida authority to cancel building permits for Ceyane and Apex.
The residents then appealed to the Allahabad High Court and demanded that the towers be demolished. Residents alleged that construction company Super-tech Limited violated norms to increase profit margin. The Allahabad High Court granted the petition of the residents of Emerald Court. The demolition of the Noida Twin Towers was ordered by the Allahabad High Court in April 2014. Super-tech in turn appealed the decision and the case was heard by the Supreme Court of India.
The Supreme Court found that the builder had violated the building rules by working with the Noida authorities.
After extensive debate on both sides, the Supreme Court of India ordered the removal of the Noida Twin Towers in 2021, citing the illegal construction of the towers. After that, Super-tech approached the Supreme Court to review its order. This was followed by many hearings in the Supreme Court. Safety concerns for Emerald Court residents were also addressed during the hearings. As a result of the decision, the demolition date was brought forward several times. The Supreme Court, however, refused to deviate from its position on this issue.
After extensive debate on both sides, the Supreme Court of India ordered the removal of the Noida Twin Towers in 2021, citing the illegal construction of the towers. After that, Super-tech approached the Supreme Court to review its order. This was followed by many hearings in the Supreme Court. Safety concerns for Emerald Court residents were also addressed during the hearings. As a result of the decision, the demolition date was brought forward several times. The Supreme Court, however, refused to deviate from its position on this issue.
Parties to the Twin Towers Demolition Case
Super-tech Limited (Super-tech)
Super-tech Group was established in 1988. Super-tech is based in Delhi but has its headquarters in Gurgaon. It is a leading real estate developer in India. Super-tech has executed some of the best projects like Emerald Court Sector 93, Noida and a premium residential project in Sector 34, Noida with a seven-star residential complex and 700,000 sq. ft.
New Okhla Industrial Development Authority, Noida (Authority)
Under section 3 of the Uttar Pradesh Industrial Area Development Act, 1976, the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority was established. The Noida Authority was created to monitor the development of certain activities in the area.
Emerald Court Owner Resident Welfare Association (RWA)
In 2004, Noida authorities gave land to Super-tech to develop a housing society in Sector 93, Noida. The society was named “Emerald Court Group Housing Society”. The residents of the society founded the Resident Welfare Association (RWA) after the residents moved in in 2009. In 2010, In 2010, the RWA has registered with the Registrar of Societies. The RWAs framed their own communal laws under the Uttar Pradesh Housing Act, 2010. After RWA was established, they were also recognized by Super-tech.
Supreme Court verdict in Twin Towers Case
Following the Allahabad High Court verdict, Super-tech appealed the Supreme Court verdict in 2014 to the Supreme Court. After hearing all the parties in the Twin Towers case, the Supreme Court decides the following conclusions:
1. The land given to Super-tech by the authorities of Nodia is only the foundation of one plot.
2. The permission granted by the Nodia authorities for the construction of towers 16 and 17 does not meet the minimum horizontal distance.
3. Super-tech’s claim that both tower-1 and tower-17 are dead ends and thus the minimum distance criteria do not apply is a false claim because tower-1 and tower-17 are opposite and not dead-ends. -de-sac.
4. Tower-16 and Tower-17 were built without following fire safety standards. 5. Super-tech promised the residents of Torn-1 to build a garden, which was also reflected in the plan approved in 2006. But in 2009, Super-Tech built Tower-16 and Tower-17 in the garden area reserved for them. This was against the UP Flats Act, 2010 when the layout was changed without the permission of the residents.
6. Tower-16 and Tower-17 were not built separately during Phase II. The location of both towers was part of Phase 1. Therefore, tower-16 and tower-17 should be built after asking all the residents of the 1st stage. However, Super-tech did not seek permission from the residents of the society, so it is against the UP-Housing Act, 2010.
Decision of the Supreme Court
The Supreme Court made the following decision regarding the Twin Towers:
1. The decision of the High Court regarding the demolition of Tower-16 and Tower-17 remains valid.
2. Tower-16 and Tower-17 must be demolished within 3 months from the date of publication of the SC order.
3. Super-tech must pay for the demolition of Tower-16 and Tower-17. Noida authorities will ensure the safety of nearby structures and people during the demolition. The Noida authorities have to consult their own experts and experts from Roorkee-based Central Building Research Institute (CBRI).
4. Demolition of Towers 16 and 17 must be supervised by CBRI. If CBRI cannot do the job, the Nodia authorities will have to appoint another expert.
5. In addition to the demolition costs, Super-tech also has to pay specialist fees.
6. Super-tech must return all the money to all owners who bought Tower-16 and Tower-17 apartments. The interest rate is 12% per annum. from the moment the owners deposit the money until the money is returned. 7. Super-tech has to pay RWAs 2 trillion within a month from the date of publication of the SC order.
Noida Twin Towers Demolition Plan
The Noida Twin Towers were demolished by a “controlled collapse mechanism”, meaning that the twin towers collapsed after the decisive placement of explosives and detonation, causing negligible damage to the surrounding environment. The cycle behind the collapse involves the continuous weakening of the basic fundamental supports of the structure, that is, the elimination of those supports that help the structure resist gravity. This was achieved in towers with various explosives. The main supports of the structure are the columns. Therefore, most of the explosives were placed on poles. In general, more explosives were placed on the lower floors than on the upper floors to initiate a controlled collapse of the structure.
The controlled collapse mechanism was first used in 1773 to demolish Trinity Cathedral in Ireland. The explosive used in the demolition of Trinity Cathedral was 68 kilograms. After that, the controlled collapse mechanism became known for collapsing bridges, buildings, tunnels and plants. However, in 2020, the technique was recently used to demolish four coastal residences in Kochi, India for violating coastal regulations.
Building Design, a Mumbai-based firm that partnered with South Africa’s Jet to demolish the twin towers. The most time-consuming process in a controlled explosion is keeping the chemical in the structure. It took almost seven months to arrange the chemical agent for the collapse of the Twin Towers. One month was spent on preparation and the remaining six months on site preparation.
3,700 kg of explosives were used to demolish the twin towers. Tower-16 had eleven and Tower-17 had ten cages. Explosives were placed on the pillars of all those main floors. Instead, 60% of the explosives were placed in the columns on the second floor of the 16th and 17th towers.
The main component of blasting is emulsion, which has a dominant quality to break even hard rocks. Such emulsions are used for the construction of underground structures. However, less emulsion was used to dismantle the twin towers because the structure did not require much. Shock wave was also used to control the shock wave to simulate real explosions. Electric detonators were used to ignite the explosives. The whole blasting process took only ten seconds
Conclusion:
The Super-tech Twin Towers of Noida, which were taller than Qutub Minar, were demolished on 28 August 2022 at 14:30, nine years after the trial was presented homeowners alleged building code violation. They were destroyed with 3,700 kilograms of explosives.
The construction company Super-tech Limited carried out the demolition work at its own expense, and the house owners, who invested money in the house, will be reimbursed 12% interest, according to an order of the Supreme Court of India. The twin towers will be demolished due to significant violations of building regulations by the Noida Authority and Super-tech.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
1. What caused the demolition of Noida’s Super Tech Twin Towers?
The Supreme Court of India ordered the demolition after Super-tech Limited, and the Noida Authority violated key building regulations, including unauthorized changes to building plans and encroachment on green spaces.
2. When were the Noida Twin Towers demolished?
The Noida Twin Towers were demolished on 28 August 2022 at 14:30.
3. How were the Noida Twin Towers demolished?
The towers were brought down by a “controlled collapse mechanism” and 3,700 kilograms of explosives. This method involved strategically placing explosives on the main structures of the building so that the towers would fall in and minimize damage to the environment.
4. What was the legal basis for the demolition order?
The Supreme Court ruled that the construction of the towers violated several building codes, including minimum requirements and fire safety standards. The construction was also done without the necessary permits from the residents, in violation of the UP-Housing Act, 2010.
5. Who was responsible for the demolition costs?
Super-tech Limited was ordered to cover all demolition costs. In addition, the company had to compensate apartment owners who invested in the towers with 12% annual interest on the investment until repayment.
6. What were the main violations of the Supreme Court?
The main violations were:
- Ignoring the minimum distance between buildings.
- Unauthorized increase in the number of floors compared to the originally approved plan.
- Construction on land called green space.
- Failure to meet fire safety standards.
- Unauthorized changes to layout without resident consent.
7. What safety measures were implemented during the demolition?
The demolition was supervised by experts from the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) and other selected experts to ensure the safety of nearby structures and residents. The Noida authority was responsible for monitoring the process.
8. How long did the demolition process take?
The actual dismantling of the towers took about ten seconds, although the preparation and planning process took several months.
9. What compensation was paid to the affected property owners?
Super-tech Limited was ordered to return all the money to the apartment owners who bought apartments in the twin towers with 12% annual interest from the time the investment was made until the money is returned.
10. How did demolition affect future building practice?
The demolition highlighted the importance of building code compliance and the consequences of violations, setting a precedent for stricter enforcement and legal accountability in the Indian real estate industry.
