Noida twin towers: Edifice to take over driveway soon

Edifice Engineering, the firm engaged by Supertech to carry out the demolition of two 32-storey buildings situated at Emerald Court project in Noida, will soon take possession of the nine-metre driveway separating the twin towers, officials said on Thursday

Edifice Engineering, the firm engaged by Supertech to carry out the demolition of two 32-storey buildings situated at Emerald Court project in Noida, will soon take possession of the nine-metre driveway separating the twin towers, officials said on Thursday.

On February 28, the Noida authority informed the Supreme Court that the demolition of the twin towers has begun and will be over by May 22. (Sunil Ghosh /HT)

The driveway will also have to be demolished for the protection of the neighbouring buildings in the society, the Edifice officials said, adding that they have written to the apartment owners’ association (AOA) and the Noida authority to hold a meeting in this regard by the end of this week.

The demolition of driveway will have to be done simultaneously along with removing supporting walls and drilling holes in some of the key building floors of the twin towers, the officials said.

“The driveway between the two buildings is already weakened. We will have to remove the driveway entirely so that the debris falls straight in the basement. The driveway will be reconstructed later. We have asked the AOA and the Noida authority to meet this week itself so that we can take possession of it at the earliest,” said Uttkarsh Mehta, partner, Edifice Engineering.

Mehta further said that empty containers may be anchored to the ground and stacked up to three floors as an additional safety layer to protect the other Emerald Court buildings from any flying debris.

According to the AOA, the issue has already been discussed with the builder who will reconstruct the driveway once the demolition work is complete.

“After the demolition on May 22, it will take about three months to remove the debris and clean up the site. The builder will then take about two months to reconstruct the driveway and get it ready by October 15. We are already working on making alternative routes for the movement of vehicles inside,” said Udaybhan Singh Teotia, president of Emerald Court AOA.

Teotia also said that the approval for demolishing the driveway has been given on the condition that it will be reconstructed by Supertech and that the demolition company will provide an undertaking to ensure safety. The conditions by the AOA were also recorded in the minutes of the meeting of all stakeholders convened by the Noida authority on February 9.

An official from the Noida authority, seeking anonymity, said that a meeting on the issue related to the driveway will be held soon.

On February 28, the Noida authority informed the Supreme Court that the demolition of the twin towers has begun and will be over by May 22. In a status report, the authority said that in the next three months ending August 22, the debris will be cleared by Edifice Engineering.

The Supreme Court ordered the demolition of twin towers on August 31 last year, after the residents of the Supertech Emerald Court project moved the Allahabad high court claiming that the buildings were in violation of the National Building Code as the distance between the towers was less than 16 metres. The high court in 2014 directed the demolition as it found that the two towers – Apex and Ceyane were illegally constructed in collusion with officials of the Noida authority. This decision was upheld by the Supreme Court last year.