The Supreme Court has directed Supertech builders to immediately release Rs 70 lakh to the Central Building Research Institute (CBRI), which was roped in as a consultant for structural audit of the company’s 32-storeyed twin towers – Apex and Ceyane, in Noida.
A Bench comprising Justice Dhananjaya Y Chandrachud and Justice JB Pardiwala passed the order on Friday, after CBRI backed out from the meeting called by Noida authority on July 19, citing non-payment of its fees of Rs 70 lakh.
The Court further gave demolition agency Edifice Engineering 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.
The Apex Court told the Noida Authority to call a meeting of CBRI, Edifice Engineering and Supertech on August 6, in case of any difficulty.
The Roorkee-based company had blamed Edifice of not providing it with vital details for carrying out the audit.
The bench then directed Noida authority to file a status report before the next date of hearing, which is on August 12.
Earlier on August 31, 2021, the top court of the country had ordered demolition of the twin towers on August 21 this year.
Appearing for Noida Authority, Senior Advocate Ravindra Kumar submitted a status report before the court, stating that no one from CBRI attended the July 19 meeting, in which the residents’ welfare association of Emerald Court raised apprehensions about the safety of adjoining towers and insisted upon a structural audit of the nearby towers as well.
Noida authority has been calling meetings every month between all stakeholders, so as to ensure that all apprehensions regarding the demolition of towers located in Supertech’s Emerald Court society are addressed, said Kumar.
By way of an an audit conducted by a private agency, the residents 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.