Nod only to raze building, not to build: Corporation on actors’ land

CHENNai: Even as the Nadigar Sangam (actors’ association) informed the Madras high court on Thursday that no construction was being made at its Rs 150-crore property in T Nagar, the Chennai Corporation said it only gave its permission to demolish the existing structure and not to build a new one.
The first bench comprising Chief Justice M Y Eqbal and Justice T S Sivagnanam, however, asked the association counsel to file an affidavit with regard to this.Earlier, S Prabakaran, counsel for a resident of Habibullah Road where the property is located, submitted that the issue needed to be argued elaborately as it involved a controversial proposal to develop a multiplex and multi-storeyed shopping mall in a prime residential area.
The Chennai Corporation filed a counter-affidavit stating that though it had sanctioned the demolition of an existing structure belonging to the actors’ body on the Habibullah Road, it had not approved any building plan for the proposed construction. Citing the delegation of powers, the corporation submitted that the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) alone had the authority to grant permission for special buildings and multi-storeyed buildings.
The controversy revolves around an 18-ground property belonging to the Nadigar Sangam. A charitable trust of the association had sought to lease out the property to SPI Cinemas to develop a multiplex at the site. Alleging irregularities in the deal, a civil suit has been filed in the Madras high court. The proposal includes building eight cinema theatres, indoor games and a shopping mall, spread across eight floors. Three of the floors would be earmarked for vehicle parking.
The petition was filed by R Sukumaran, a resident of Habibullah Road, saying construction of a multiplex in the prime residential area, which has educational institutions and narrow roads, would cause inconvenience the residents.
Besides seeking to restrain the civic authorities from granting any approval or building permission for the proposed project, the petitioner wanted the court to quash the project.