The Times of India            11.12.2013

14-storey Chennai IT park sealed for violations

CHENNAI: The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) on Tuesday sealed a 14-storeyed IT park promoted by Leela group and subsequently sold to Reliance in MRC Nagar for building rules violation. This is the biggest building to be sealed, both in terms of size and value, by the regulatory agency in the city for violations.

The promoter had obtained permission to construct three basement floors, stilt and 13 floors. However, it went on to construct a portion of the 14th floor also. The promoter also violated set back (the distance between the building and the land boundary on all sides) and floor space index (FSI is the ratio of land area to built-up area) norms, said CMDA officials.

Despite having sufficient time to rectify the violations, the owner failed to do so, CMDA enforcement wing sources said.

The building, located adjacent to the Leela Palace hotel, has a built-up area of 2.2 lakh square feet and is valued at present at Rs 200 crore. It was bought by Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd for its telecom venture for Rs 172 crore.

A top Reliance Industries official said his company was not aware of the CMDA action. "We have not done any construction after the acquisition," said the official.

Chennai metropolitan area is estimated to have more than 1.7 lakh illegally constructed buildings and 50% of them are commercial structures. "Ordinances issued by the state government since 2007 have prevented CMDA from pulling down illegal structures," said an official.

M G Devasahayam, member of CMDA's high-court appointed committee that monitors building violations said almost all the high rise buildings in MRC Nagar had violated Coastal Regulation Zone norms. "Unfortunately many of them have been regularized. The CMDA should continue with similar action and seal all buildings that have violated rules," he said.