NEW DELHI, Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- In a landmark judgment, the country's topmost court - the Supreme Court of India on Tuesday ordered the demolition of two 40-storey residential buildings near Delhi for flouting construction norms.
The illegal twin towers were built by Supertech Ltd.
Holding the builders responsible and accountable for illegally constructing the twin towers in NOIDA, a town adjacent to Delhi but situated in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, the apex court ordered that the demolition work shall be carried out by the builders themselves at their own cost.
Upholding an order by a High Court, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court also ordered the company to refund all the amounts to the buyers of the apartments within two months with a bank interest of 12 percent per annum.
While issuing the demolition orders, the topmost court took a strong note of "collusion" between the company and the state government officials in NOIDA who gave a go-ahead to the building plans.
"Illegal construction has to be dealt with strictly," said the two-judge bench while stressing the need to preserve the environment amid the rising needs for urban housing.
"The protection of environment and well-being of people who occupy this has to be balanced with the need of increasing demand for urban housing," observed the apex court order.
