As the Supertech twin towers in Noida were razed to dust on Sunday, homebuyers who have invested in the developer’s other projects across the NCR wondered “who actually got punished” as they are clueless whether they would get possession of their flats booked years ago. However, the administration has initiated action against the officials but till now no one from Supertech, Noida Authority and the fire department is in jail.
In August 2021, the Apex Court came down heavily on the Supertech, which allegedly was in cahoots with the Noida authority officials, had constructed the now demolished towers, after violation of the building norms.
Earlier, on Apex court’s order, the Uttar Pradesh Government had formed a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged collusion between the Supertech group and the Noida authority. Police had also registered an FIR against the three officials from the Noida fire department. Later, the deputy inspector general of fire services, Akash Kulhari, director J K Singh and Animesh Kumar submitted their own departmental enquiry report.
As per sources, three former chief fire officials, Rajpal Tyagi, I S Soni and Mahavir Singh, now retired, violated norms by granting a no-objection certificate to Supertech group. The SIT in its investigation has found the involvement of 26 officials of the Noida authority, who allegedly gave approval to the Supertech group’s changed building plans that led to the construction of the twin towers. According to sources, out of these 26 officials, 20 have retired, two are dead and four, who were in service, have been suspended.
On the basis of the SIT report, a case was registered on October 4, 2021, in which four directors of Supertech were also named. The vigilance department in Lucknow registered an FIR against the concerned officials.