August 28 new deadline for Noida towers demolition

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday extended the deadline for demolition of Supertech twin towers in Noida — Apex and Cayane in the Emerald Court — till August 28 after being informed that the two structures are stronger than expected and the exercise will require more time.

A bench of Justices D Y Chandrachud and P S Narasimha passed the order on an application filed by Interim Resolution Professional seeking an extension of time by three months. The next hearing is on July 29. The top court had earlier held the two towers as illegal and ordered the builder to demiolish them by May 22 and return the money to homebuyers.

A status report submitted on behalf of NOIDA authority in compliance with an earlier order of the top court indicated that Edifice Engineering, the agency entrusted to demolish the towers, carried out a test blast and found the need to redesign the final building blast plan. 

The court was informed that the director of the Central Building Research Institute, too, had indicated that the demolition could be carried out by August 28. In view of the expert opinions, the SC acceded to the request for more time. 

Extra caution advocated

Amicus curiae advocate Gaurav Agrawal also supported the application for extension of deadline to demolish the towers. Agrawal said that the twin towers are in close proximity to the residential buildings and therefore extra caution needs to be maintained so that debris does not cause damage to them.