TIRUCHY: Tense moments prevailed at Race Course Road in the city on Friday when tourism officials attempted to take possession of its property where SRM Hotel stands, following the expiry of a lease agreement made with the Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC). The opposing hotel management was supported by BJP and IJK workers who gathered on the premises.
According to a TTDC release, on June 14, 1994, its property spanning 4.7 acres was leased out to SRM Hotel for a 30-year period. The then district collector had fixed the lease amount at Rs 47.93 crore for 30 years. The hotel management has however only paid Rs 9.08 crore.
The lease agreement between TTDC and SRM Hotel ended on June 13, 2024. The contract also stipulates that the contractor shall not extend the lease period and hand over the property to TTDC unconditionally and without damages on the last date. The tenant was also informed one month in advance of the lease’s expiry and the pending dues.
Against this backdrop, the hotel objected to the takeover bid. The Madurai Bench of Madras High Court granted interim relief to the hotel by refraining the tourism department to carry out eviction activities on the property in question for a period of four days, that is till the evening hours of June 18 (Tuesday).
Following the tension, police personnel were deployed at the hotel. Meanwhile, BJP state president K Annamalai condemned the incident and accused the DMK government of doing vendetta politics.
(With inputs from Madurai)