Residents of the Emerald Court housing society announced on Saturday that they would oppose any attempt by builder Supertech Group to build another housing tower on the site of the illegal twin towers and would move court if necessary.
Their response followed the real estate group’s announcement that it wanted to build a new housing project at the same location and would seek reimbursement for land cost and other expenses if the local authorities did not approve the plan, which resulted in an estimated loss of about Rs 500 crore from the demolition of its twin towers.
The Apex and Ceyane twin towers, which stood close to 100 metres tall, were demolished on August 28 in accordance with a historic Supreme Court ruling that declared their construction inside the Emerald Court grounds to be against the rules. “Of course we are going to object to any such attempt by the builder. We will move court also, if needed,” Uday Bhan Singh Teotia, the president of Emerald Court’s residents’ association, told PTI.
“The twin towers had come up illegally in an area within our society premises which was earmarked for a green space. No doubt, now we are going to have a park over there. There are also some suggestions from several residents for constructing a temple there but for that we are going to hold a meeting of all residents of the society in some days and a decision will be taken accordingly,” Teotia, 82, one of the earliest petitioners in the landmark case, said. The Apex and Ceyane twin towers, which stood close to 100 metres tall, were demolished on August 28 in accordance with a historic Supreme Court ruling that declared their construction inside the Emerald Court grounds to be outside the rules.
The builder’s remark, according to Rajesh Rana, 62, a former president of the residents’ group, was irresponsible, and he appears to be appealing the apex court’s decision. “The Supreme Court declared those buildings as illegal and now you say you are going to make another housing complex. Just imagine how the Supreme Could will take it! The learned judges…have given a verdict, a historic verdict, first time in the country. If you want to challenge it in media, I think it is not fair on his (builder’s) part. It’s a very serious matter,” he said. Rana, a resident of the Aster 2 tower, which was only nine metres from the twin towers’ now-demolished Apex structure, said it was good for the tenants to finally have a view and ventilation. “It now feels like heaven,” he said.
Earlier, Supertech’s chairman R K Arora stated that after the twin towers’ construction site was cleaned of debris, his company will present a proposal to the Noida Authority for the development of a housing project and, if necessary, obtain the approval of the RWA of Emerald Court. “We were allotted 14 acres of land by the Noida Authority in Noida Sector 93 A for the development of the group housing project. Out of the total land parcel, the twin towers were built on 2 acres land,” he said. “Now the twin towers have been demolished, we will submit a plan to develop a group housing project on the 2-acre land which is owned by the company,” as reported by PTI.
(Catch all the Business News, Breaking News Events and Latest News Updates on The Economic Times.)
Download The Economic Times News App to get Daily Market Updates & Live Business News.
