Fresh tussle at the Noida twin towers site: residents, builder lock horns

According to Emerald Court residents, Supertech had revised the building plan in 2009 to add two more towers, Apex and Ceyane. (PTI)

There’s a fresh fight brewing over the twin towers project land in Emerald Court society, in Noida’s sector 93A. The project lands were leased to Supertech by the Noida authority in 2004 and 2006. Now that the twin towers have been reduced to rubble and work is underway to dispose of the debris, all eyes are on what use the 8,000 square metres would be put to.

Supertech's chairman and managing director R. K. Arora told news agency ANI that the company will construct a new project on the land with the approval of the Noida authority, as also with the consent of the Emerald Court residents’ welfare association (RWA).

A Supertech spokesperson told Moneycontrol that the land belongs to Supertech and that the dispute was about the height of the towers and the consent of the residents for the same, not about ownership of the land.

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"We have paid Rs 25 crore to Noida authority for the land and another Rs 25 crore for the project’s approval. The land belongs to us and Supertech will use it after taking required approvals," said the spokesperson.

However, residents said they won't allow Supertech to construct anything on the land.

"The land belongs to Emerald Court society and we won't give consent to Supertech for any construction. We are thinking of making a garden and a small temple on the land, but nothing has been finalised yet. A final decision will be taken only after a meeting of the residents and the RWA," said Emerald Court RWA president U.B.S. Teotia.

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Ajai Goyal, former Emerald Court RWA secretary, said that since Supertech has made a claim on the land, the ownership of the land needs to be made clear first.

"Let the Noida authority, the interim resolution professional (IRP) and, if need be, the Supreme Court, decide the ownership of the land. The land is part of a green area and belongs to the society," said Goyal.

He also questioned Supertech's claim on the land. "When it came to repairing the columns of the society before the demolition, Supertech initially shrugged off their responsibility saying they have handed over the society to the RWA and it is the RWA's responsibility to carry out repairs. How can it claim the land now? Irrespective of what Supertech says, our claim will remain on this land," said Goyal.

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What does the Noida Authority say?

Explaining the green area or open space norm, a Noida authority official said that if a developer is constructing a project on 1,000 square metres of land, it will have to leave 300 square metres as open space or green area.

"A temple or a residential complex can be allowed, but for that consent of all stakeholders is required. But the question is, whether the people who fought for years to have the towers demolished will give their consent to the developer for a new project? If they give consent, the (Noida) authority might oppose it because we toiled hard for one year and put all our energy behind demolishing the tower. It's too early to comment on any possibility of construction," said the official, requesting anonymity.

The official refused to comment on the ownership of the land.

What do experts say?

According to Emerald Court residents, Supertech had revised the building plan in 2009 to add two more towers, Apex and Ceyane.

Initially, the towers were supposed to have 24 floors, but the developer revised the plans and increased the number to 40. Residents had objected, but construction continued. Experts say that the RWA can claim the land as per the initial project layout, but Supertech can claim the land as per the revised layout.

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"Assuming the twin tower site is a green area, Supertech may not have filed this land in their deed of declaration as they were building the towers. There is a possibility that Supertech may have kept the land out of the layout in their deed of declaration and not shown it as a green area," said a senior advocate and RERA expert who did not wish to be named.

He said that a change in the initial layout would have converted the green area into a non-green area, excluding it from the part handed over to the RWA. He said that since the Supreme Court, in a way, had said that the approval for changing the layout was violative of norms and hence illegal, the land was deemed to be a green area and the towers were demolished.

"However, since the land is not a part of the deed of declaration, the title remains with the builder. Supertech may say that it had shown the land as a green area but now it doesn't need to provide that green area as it is changing the layout. If Supertech gets required NOCs, then the land belongs to it. However, the residents can also claim it to be their green area (as per the initial plan)," said the lawyer.

Experts said that a legal battle is likely in case of a dispute between the RWA and the developer.