LDA to use controlled demolition technique for illegal structures

The Noida Development Authority, with the Supreme Court (SC) order, engaged a private firm under the guidance of the Central Building Research Institute, Roorkee, to demolish the Apex and Ceyane towers of Supertech.

Secretary of LDA, Pawan Gangwar, told the media that controlled demolition is a cost-effective and reliable method used by development agencies. He added that suggestions had been sought to check if the technique could be used to raze the illegal structures in the state capital.

Utkarsh Mehta of Edifice Demolition, engaged by the Noida Authority, said that the process is a precise chain reaction that causes several explosions. Even the direction of the fall of the debris structures is controlled to cause minimal risk to life and surrounding properties. This precision for demolition is achieved through a detailed study of the building plan and the site requirements.

The industry experts highlighted that certified blaster in India look at three points for controlled demolition, the height of the building, the approach road to the building and the availability of explosives. The third factor has kept controlled demolition a government affair.

According to experts, the new method is around 30 per cent cheaper and 35 per cent faster than the traditional methods of demolishing.