Emerald Court project: Spl panel to probe building norm violations
LUCKNOW/NOIDA: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath on Wednesday ordered that a special inquiry committee be constituted to probe the violations of building norms in the construction of two 40-storey towers at the Supertech Emerald Court project in Noida’s Sector 93 -- a day after the Supreme Court ordered the demolition of the twin towers.
The chief minister also directed the officials to register criminal cases against the guilty persons, if need be, as he reviewed the matter in Lucknow, an official spokesperson said. “In the case of Noida’s Supertech Emerald court case, the orders of the Supreme Court should be ensured in letter and spirit. Irregularities in this case have been going on continuously since 2004,” the CM said, according to the spokesperson.
“A special inquiry committee should be constituted at the government level and a thorough investigation be done,” Adityanath said at a high-level meeting in the state capital on Wednesday.
A bench of justices Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and MR Shah on Tuesday directed that Supertech shall carry out the demolition at its own expense and will complete it within three months under the supervision of
the Noida Authority and an expert body such as the Central Building Research Institute.
Further, the court ordered that Supertech will refund money to all the existing homebuyers in Emerald Court’s Apex and Ceyane towers within two months, along with an interest of 12% per annum from the date of their deposits. Besides, the developer shall shell out Rs 2 crores to the Emerald Court Owner Resident Welfare Association (RWA), which had led the legal battle against erection of the twin towers on a green area and in breach of the minimum distance norms.
The two towers facing demolition have 915 flats of which 633 were booked. Of them, 252 flat buyers still remain as 133 homebuyers have reinvested in other Supertech projects while 248 have taken a refund.
“The sanction for the construction of Tower-16 and Tower-17 were given by NOIDA (New Okhla Industrial Development Authority) in contravention of the minimum distance requirement provided by the building regulations... the record of this case is replete with instances which highlight the collusion between the officers of NOIDA with the appellant and its management. The case has revealed a nefarious complicity of the planning authority in the violation by the developer of the provisions of law,” it held.
The Noida authority on
Wednesday said a two-member committee has been constituted, and it has begun investigation to identify the officials involved in approval of the plan for the two towers.
“The committee will probe into all aspects of this case and submit its report at earliest,” said Ritu Maheshwari chief executive officer of the Noida authority.
The two-member panel consisting of additional chief executive officers (ACEOS) Praveen Mishra and Neha Sharma is expected to submit their report in a week.
Once the erring officials are identified, the authority will take action as per the Supreme Court’s directions, said the officials.
The authority officials also said the investigation may check the actions of several high ranking serving and former officials.
As per rules, once a developer submits a proposal, the architect and town planning department sign off on it after following the provisions laid down by the building bylaws.
The Noida authority chief executive officer too approves it for large-size projects, said the officials.