Built illegally, these twin towers were demolished this Sunday

Two residential towers erected illegally in the suburbs of the Indian capital, were destroyed by implosion this Sunday at 2:30 p.m. local time (11 a.m. in Paris) as part of an extremely rare demolition order, given by the Supreme Court last year. A controlled implosion, using some 3,500 kg of explosives, must destroy, in a few seconds, the “twin towers» 100 meters high, in Noida, in the south-east of New Delhi. Thousands of residents, as well as dozens of stray dogs, had to be evacuated, as a simple precaution, the team in charge of the demolition ensuring that all security measures were taken.

The Supreme Court had concluded last year that the structures had been built illegally in collusion with local authorities. She had also ordered the construction sector giant Supertech to reimburse all apartment buyers. None of them had yet moved into the towers. This demolition is a rare example of the firmness of the authorities with regard to crooked promoters.

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1000 fraudulent apartments

Uday Bhan Singh Teotia is one of the local residents whose complaints against Supertech led to the demolition order. “The initial plan called for 650 apartments, but the builder fraudulently added 1,000 additional apartments”did he declare. “The two new towers they built deprived us of everything, our air and sunlight. There was no green space left.he continued. “Court order exposes sacrilegious alliance between builders and corrupt authorities”, he added. None of Supertech’s officials wanted to respond to these allegations.

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Lawyer Jayant Bhushan, who represented the plaintiffs in this case, believes that the builders must clean up their affairs in order to regain the confidence of potential buyers. “When manufacturers don’t follow the rules, it’s again and again unlucky buyers who end up paying the price”, he believes. The middle classes fall into the trap, in a hurry to acquire the housing of their dreams, investing all their savings in projects that often never see the light of day. They find themselves embroiled in long legal battles against powerful promoters.

India, Asia’s third-largest and fastest-growing economy in the world, has seen a construction boom in recent years. Unscrupulous real estate developers, in search of big profits, often cut corners on construction costs, with impunity, and capitalizing on weak regulations. Companies often build extra floors or towers and use substandard materials, while officials are bribed to turn a blind eye.

Horrible ghost towns

When they break the law, builders often get away with penalties and simply abandon unfinished jobs. In the suburbs of Delhi, in Noida and Greater Noida, it is estimated that more than 100 residential towers have been abandoned in this way, giving these areas the appearance of ugly ghost towns, disfiguring the landscape. In 2020, four luxury towers in the southern state of Kerala had been shot down for violating environmental regulations. However, demolitions are rare in India.