New
Delhi:
Twin 40-floor residential towers in Uttar Pradesh's Noida - which house over
900 flats and were built by real estate firm Supertech - will be demolished over
the violation of construction by-laws, the Supreme Court said Tuesday, as it
upheld an April 2014 decision by the Allahabad High Court.
The
company has said it will file a review petition against the judgement.
A
two-member bench of Justices DY Chandrachud and MR Shah slammed the towers'
illegal construction, which they ruled was achieved by collusion and an “unholy
nexus” between Noida (New Okhla Industrial Development Area) authorities and
the builders.
People
who had bought homes in these projects must be refunded in two months, and the
cost of demolition, which must take place in three months, is to be borne by
Supertech, the court ruled.
“(There
are) repeated instances of collusion between authorities and developers -
complicity of Noida authorities... breach of building plans, refusal of
authorities to share building plans with residents, violation of building
norms... The High Court dealt with these issues and, correctly, concluded
collusion between authorities and developers,” Justice Chandrachud said.
The
court also slammed a “rampant increase in unauthorised construction” and
stressed that protection of the environment and safety of residents had to be
considered at all times.
“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.
Supertech
had defended its construction by insisting there was nothing illegal. Among
other arguments made by Vikas Singh, the lawyer representing the company, was
that the residents welfare association that filed the case did not exist when
construction started.
“We
have followed the minimum distance criteria, followed the fire safety norms and
all other parameters. There was no illegality as canvassed by the home buyers,”
he had said.
In
its last hearing on the matter (earlier this month), a furious top court came
down hard on Noida authorities for failing to provide copies of the sanctioned
plan, as requested by home buyers.
“You
(the authority) are reeking with corruption right from your eyes and nose,” the
court said, adding, “This is a shocking exercise of power. You are not only in
league with the Supertech.”
“When
home buyers asked for a sanctioned plan, you wrote to Supertech (asking if) you
should give the document... It was only after the (Allahabad) High Court
expressly directed you to give that you had given them,” the court said.
The
court also demanded to know why and how the Noida authorities, in their “eternal
wisdom”, permitted large construction projects such as this in a designated
'green area'.
The
two towers - Apex and Ceyane - of Supertech's Emerald Court Project - together
have 915 apartments and 21 shops. Of these, initially, 633 flats were booked.
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