‘Supertech to pay firm ₹70L for structural audit’

The towers are to be demolished onAugust 21as ordered by the top court on August 31 last year.

Barely three weeks before the intended demolition of Supertech’s 32-storeyed twin towers — Apex and Ceyane — in Noida, the Supreme Court on Friday sorted out a major confrontation that arose over the structural audit of the towers in question after the Roorkee-based Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), roped in as a consultant, backed out from the meeting called by Noida authority on July 19 citing non-payment of ₹70 lakh in fees It even blamed the demolition agency Edifice Engineering for not providing it with vital details for carrying out the audit.

The court told CBRI, “You are such a reputed agency. We want your assistance.” (Picture for representation only/HT)

The towers are to be demolished onAugust 21as ordered by the top court on August 31 last year.

A bench of justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and JB Pardiwala on Friday directed Supertech--managed by an interim resolution professional (IRP) as the company is facing insolvency proceedings – to immediately release ₹70 lakh to CBRI and gave Edifice and Supertech time till August 5 to share all required data with regard to the safety audit, vibration report, test blast results, and clearing of debris.

“If there is any difficulty, the Noida authority shall call a meeting of CBRI, Edifice Engineering, Supertech on August 6,” the bench said, directing the Noida authority to file a status report before the court takes up the matter again on August 12.

Senior advocate Ravindra Kumar, appearing for Noida authority, presented a status report to the court informing it that no one from CBRI attended the July 19 meeting in which the residents’ welfare association of Emerald Court praised apprehensions about the safety of the adjoining towers and insisted upon a structural audit of the nearby towers as well. The residents, via an audit conducted by a private agency, found several cracks in the basement of nearby towers, and raised apprehensions that the demolition may impact the safety of other residential towers within the same complex.

In this regard, Noida wrote to CBRI to allay the residents’ apprehensions, but CBRI cited non-payment of fees as a reason to stay out of the July 19 meeting. During the hearing on Friday, CBRI’s senior scientist DP Kanungo told the court that the process of seeking information from Edifice for carrying out a structural audit has been on since February this year. It was on CBRI’s recommendation that the Supreme Court had extended the May 22 deadline for completion of demolition process till August 28, since some time would be required after demolition on August 21 to clear the debris.

The court told CBRI, “You are such a reputed agency. We want your assistance.”

Even amicus curiae advocate Gaurav Agarwal urged the court that Supertech should be directed to make the payment as CBRI is the only expert engaged on the aspects of structural safety.

On April 10, Edifice carried out a test blast and found the 103-metre structure stronger than expected. It wrote to Supertech, with a copy marked each to Noida authority and CBRI, to reschedule the demolition date from May 22 to August 21 as the blast designs had to be reworked by increasing the quantity of explosives, the number of blast floors, and holes per column, wrapping columns with wire mesh and geotextile cloth, among other ancillary issues.

The Allahabad high court had, in April 2014, ordered the demolition of these towers on a plea filed by the Emerald Court Apartment Owners’ Association, which complained that the area occupied by the towers was supposed to be a green area and construction on this space amounted to breach of trust by the builder. It later came to light that the structures were in violation of the National Building Code, 2005.

The top court upheld the high court order and ordered compensation for homebuyers (deposit plus 12% interest) who bought flats in the twin towers. Of the 633 persons who booked flats in the twin towers, about 248 homebuyers took an early refund while 133 took flats in other Supertech projects, leaving only 252 homebuyers who have since been receiving refunds.