A former chief architect-planner took voluntary retirement from the Noida Authority six years ago. It happened soon after the Allahabad high court ordered the demolition of Supertech’s twin towers.
Furthermore, the government is examining files to determine the anomalies that facilitated their construction. The towers located at Emerald Court are among those under scrutiny.
Sources said that family members of the official are in the real estate business. They run a company that has projects in Noida, Greater Noida and Indirapuram in Ghaziabad, as well as other parts of the western Uttar Pradesh.
The official was at the helm when the planning division of the Noida Authority allowed amendment of the original plan and sanctioned revised maps on two occasions.
“Under his tenure, the planning department approved exploitation of the additional floor area ratio. Also, increased the height of the buildings (Apex and Ceyane),” said a government official on Wednesday (September 1, 2021).
Sources said the state government investigation will go through the income statements of the former chief architect-planner and assets mentioned under the names of his immediate family members, to estimate their annual income.
“We will take help from retired income tax department officers to estimate the value of the known assets owned by the family,” said the government official.
Moreover, the former chief architect-planner informed the Times of India that he retired due to poor health. He had to undergo surgery. He said the sanctions were offered in line with the building bylaws.
Also, the team of officials in the planning division had scanned the maps submitted by the developer.
Meanwhile, the Noida Authority has slapped a recovery certificate of ₹1.72 crore on Supertech. This is for not paying water and sewerage charges. The fine was imposed in view of services provided to the group for Apex and Ceyane, officials said.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court has asked the Noida Authority to demolish the towers within three months.