Accountability will be fixed, if not today then tomorrow: NOIDA CEO on lesson from twin towers case

Noida: If there is a violation of rules, its responsibility will definitely be fixed, if not today then tomorrow, Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari said as she asked everyone to abide by norms fixed by the government and courts.

The Supertech twin towers case is also a lesson for government officials, the senior IAS officer said, as legal action has been initiated against 26 Noida Authority officials for their involvement in the project.

Maheshwari said the Supertech incident has also led the Noida Authority to revise norms and make them more stringent in disbursal of floor area ratio (FAR) to developers, a move to prevent such episodes in the future.

Taller than Delhi's iconic Qutub Minar, the nearly 100-metre-high Apex and Ceyane towers in Noida's Sector 93A are set to be demolished at 2.30 pm on August 28.

The towers will be demolished in pursuance of a Supreme Court order that found that structures had come up in Supertech's Emerald Court society premises in violation of norms.

The Supreme had on August 31, 2021, ordered the demolition of the towers for violation of building norms in "collusion with district officials, holding that illegal construction has to be dealt with strictly to ensure compliance with the rule of law".

The New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (NOIDA), also called the Noida Authority, had received a rap on its knuckles as the top court pointed out multiple incidents of collusion of its officials with Supertech Ltd in the Emerald Court project and violations of norms by the realty major in construction of the twin towers.

"The case has revealed a nefarious complicity of the planning authority in the violation by the developer of the provisions of law," the Supreme Court had observed.

On lessons for builders from the episode, the Noida Authority CEO said, "If there is a violation then definitely its responsibility will be fixed, if not today then tomorrow. Everybody should abide by all the norms fixed by the government and by the court." She said there were directions from the Supreme Court and it was an old matter which was taken seriously by the Uttar Pradesh government.

"The state government formed an SIT (special investigation team) that found involvement of 26 officials in different periods of time. FIRs were lodged against all these officials," Maheshwari said.

"The government has taken strict action against them. There has been a strong message from the court and the government that violation (of rules) will not go unpunished," the senior IAS officer said.

"This government and the Noida Authority are continuously making efforts to ensure work is done with transparency and accountability. Also whatever new works and initiatives take place, they should be done with the larger public interest in mind so that everyone benefits from them," she added.

Talking to PTI, Maheshwari said in the case of the twin towers, it was not like the maps were not approved by the Noida Authority.

"Even the court noted that there was connivance between Noida Authority officials and the builder. Approvals for construction were given by the Noida Authority itself. The FAR purchase was also approved in keeping with the then norms and bylaws," she said.

"The violations were related more to technical aspects like the distance between the towers and so on. Besides, residents' consent was not taken," she added.

On measures to prevent such episodes in the future, the Noida Authority CEO said they have revised the norms for consent and made them more stringent in disbursal of FAR to builders besides streamlining payment methods.

"The Noida Authority has come out with a new format in which developers have to get the consent of buyers for such constructions, a practice that was not in place earlier. What happened earlier was that the builders took the home buyers' consent only at the time of selling inventory. Now, we will ask for fresh consent," Maheshwari said.

"The FAR disbursement norms have been made stringent in line with the UP Apartment Owners' Act. Earlier, builders had two years to make payments in installments. Now, the entire amount has to be cleared in three months," she added.