After remaining suspended for nearly two months, removal of debris from the twin towers demolition site in Noida’s sector 93A resumed on March 1.
According to officials privy to the development, the Noida authority has instructed Edifice Engineering to finish the work by April 15, within the given deadline of 45 days.
Sound pollution
The decision comes after the UP Pollution Control Board last month conducted a fresh sound level test to measure the degree of noise pollution. The Noida Authority conducted sound level tests in three zones — at the site, around the demolition site, and inside the houses of the residents of nearby buildings — following complaints.
Sound levels at the site of the demolished Supertech Twin Towers in Noida, where the debris is still being cleared, were found to be above permissible limits, validating complaints of residents in the neighbourhood.
The permissible noise level for residential areas is 45 decibels at night and 55 units during the day. In commercial areas, it is 55 decibels at night and 65 decibels during the day, while for industrial areas, it is 70 units at night) and 75 units during the day.
A Noida Authority official said that instructions have also been given to take noise reduction measures and avoid causing inconvenience to residents of the nearby Emerald Court society.
“The work to clear the debris restarted from March 1,” Utkarsh Mehta of Edifice Engineering confirmed. He said that the firm would make all possible efforts to meet the deadline.
No deadline extension
In February, at a meeting of stakeholders, including officials of the Noida Authority, residents of Emerald Court, Edifice Engineering executives, and Noida Authority CEO Ritu Maheshwari, it was decided that no fresh extension would be given and that the work would have to be completed within the deadline of 45 days.
Officials also said that since the work was Supreme Court-monitored, in case of any delay, the Authority would apprise the court.
The executing agency has also been directed to clear the debris from the nine-metre pathway connecting the towers by March 15 so that it can be reconstructed by April 5. The pathway was broken during the demolition.
Residents of the neighbourhood had complained about the high level of noise pollution due to digging and debris removal at the demolition site, following which work at the site was suspended for nearly two months. The work was halted in January 2023.
Udaybhan Singh Teotia, president of the Emerald Court Resident Welfare Association, said that work has resumed but it should be completed within the given timeframe.
“The work restarted from March 1. The Authority will have to ensure that it is completed within the given 45 days’ time. We demand that the road connecting the towers Aster 2 and 3 should be constructed soon so that the residents do not face inconvenience,” Teotia said.
65% of work completed so far
The two illegally constructed towers, which were almost 100 metres tall (they were taller than the Qutub Minar), were demolished on August 28 last year on the Supreme Court’s orders. The original deadline to clear the debris was November 28, 2022. It was extended by 45 days.
The razing of the two towers left behind an estimated 80,000 tonnes of debris. About 50,000 tonnes of debris would be used to fill the pit where the towers stood while the remaining 30,000 tonnes were to be transported to a waste management plant in Noida’s Sector 80.
Six months on, about 65 percent of the construction and demolition waste has been cleared from the site.
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