‘Declare Supertech twin towers area ‘No Fly Zone’ during demolition’: Officials

Ahead of the demolition of Supertech’s Apex and Ceyanne towers in Noida on Sunday, the real estate developer has written to Airports Authority of India (AAI) and Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) requesting them to take precautionary measures with regards to security of aeroplanes that may cross the area on the day, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday.

According to officials, the Supertech has expressed concerns regarding security of flights and drones in the Exclusion Zone of the twin towers on the day of demolition. Exclusion zone is the 50-metre radius from the twin towers that will be completely evacuated with no human, animals or vehicles inside.

“While the company carrying out the demolition will have drones inside the exclusion zone to monitor and record the demolition for research purposes, officials of Civil Aviation have been requested to issue an advisory to airlines, which are likely to go over the demolition site, to exercise caution,” said an official on condition of anonymity.

The Gautam Budh Nagar police will also write to Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) intimating them about the demolition. “As a precautionary measure, BCAS will be requested to make the exclusion zone a ‘No Fly Zone’ as no official orders have been passed for the same yet,” said the official.

Also Read |Supertech twin towers demolition: Noida Authority finalises evacuation plan. Details here

When reached out, Love Kumar, joint commissioner of police, GB Nagar said, “Currently the exclusion zone is a ‘No Fly Zone’ for drones driven by private individuals. However, a final call on the same will be taken later and an official communication will be issued thereafter.”

Officials said that for areas beyond exclusion zone, drones will only be allowed on permission by the local police.

Earlier on August 18, the traffic police said that the Noida-Greater Noida Expressway will be closed for 15 minutes before the blast and will be opened as soon as the dust settles. “The demolition company has informed us that the blast will take only a few seconds and the dust cloud will be cleared within a few minutes. For safety reasons, we will take some buffer time as well. However, shutting the expressway for a longer duration will create a huge traffic bottleneck. The entire closure of the expressway will not be for more than 30 minutes, while the internal roads can be closed for a little longer,” said Ganesh Prasad Saha, deputy commissioner of police (traffic).

The towers were ordered to be demolished by the Supreme Court on August 31 last year on a petition filed by Supertech Emerald Court Apartment Owners’ Association. The residents had first approached the Allahabad high court and succeeded in getting an order of demolition against the two towers in 2014. They complained that the area occupied by the towers was supposed to be a green area and construction on this space amounted to breach of trust by the builder. It was also found that the two towers flouted the minimum distance rule prescribed by the National Building Code, 2005.

While upholding the high court order, the SC ordered compensation for homebuyers (deposit plus 12% interest) who bought flats in the twin towers.

On August 8 this year, the top court extended the deadline for demolition of the twin towers by a week from August 21 to August 28 after being told by the Roorkee-based Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) that the work of ‘charging’ the building with explosives had just commenced and other actions to be undertaken prior to demolition will complete only by August 25.