Two illegally built apartment towers outside India’s capital of Delhi have been reduced to dust and debris after a legal battle of more than a decade.

In footage captured on Sunday, crowds cheered and clapped from nearby rooftops as a pair of 103-metre buildings in the Noida area were destroyed in a controlled demolition.

Over 3700 kilograms of explosives were used, officials told local media, as plumes of dust clouded the city and the buildings collapsed into rubble.

The detonation followed an order from India’s Supreme Court for the 40-storey towers to be knocked down after their builder, real estate company Supertech, was found to have violated multiple building and fire safety regulations.

They are the largest structures to be demolished in India, and came down in an operation that took just 15 seconds.

Thousands of residents near the blast site were evacuated in the hours before the detonation.

Reuters reports other families left Noida for the weekend, fearing health hazards and heightened pollution from the tonnes of debris and dust.

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The blast was predicted to leave more than 80,000 tonnes of rubble.

Locals who remained celebrated the demolition on social media, with footage and photos posted to Twitter. Captions highlighted the action against corruption and the speed at which the buildings collapsed.

“Today is the time for joy,” 80-year-old Uday Bhan Singh Teotia, who was part of the original petitioner group, told Arab News.

“After fighting for 10 years and going through all the pains of pursuing the case, we have achieved our goal.”

“This gives the message to the builder and to all those who violate rules.”

Another neighbour was also pleased.

“We are happy that the towers have been demolished. We fought for it,” Gaurav Malhotra said.

“Our biggest worry is the debris and after demolition pollution.”

Authorities said they strategically placed explosives to ensure minimal damage to the area and that police were assessing the aftermath of the demolition.

In some footage, neighbouring buildings can be seen covered in white plastic sheets to protect them from debris. Nearby roads were also closed for the operation.

The destroyed buildings were said to contain 850 unoccupied apartments.