SC cites collusion, orders demolition of 2 Emerald Towers in Noida

In a big set back to real estate owner Supertech, the Supreme Court has ordered the demolition of two 40-storey residential towers of  Emerald Court in Noida. The court also said the Noida authority gave sanction to the towers in collusion with the builder. Twin 40-floor residential towers in Noida - which house over 900 flats and were built by real estate firm - will be demolished over the violation of construction by-laws, the Supreme Court said Tuesday, upheld an Allahabad high court order from 2014, 

A two-judge bench, comprising Justice DY Chandrachud and Justice MR Shah observed in its final judgment that their construction was due to a "collusion" between officials of the Authority and Supertech. "This construction dilutes safety standards (and) illegalities have to be dealt with strictly. (The) sanction given by Noida authorities is violative of building regulations... goes against minimum distance requirements between towers... fire safety norms have been violated... garden area was violated to construct the towers," the court pointed out. The court has further ordered that the demolition of the Supertech towers has to be completed within 3 months and the builder will have to bear the demolition cost.Further, the demolition has to be done without affecting the other buildings of Supertech Emerald Court.

The court has directed that the entire amount of home buyers be refunded with interest from the time of the booking and the Residents Welfare Association be paid Rs 2 crore for the harassment caused due to the construction of the twin towers. “Sanction plans have not been disclosed even to the RWA. Even when a notice was issued, that minimum distance requirements were being flouted and no action was taken,” observed the Supreme Court. The court observed that the construction work for the Supertech Emerald Court towers began even before a sanction was received for and the Noida authority took no action. The homebuyers association has claimed that the huge twin towers constructed by the builder were not in the original plan shown to them at the time of booking and it has blocked their view, fresh air and sunlight.