State government takes possession of SRM hotel in Tiruchi

In a significant development, the State-owned Tamil Nadu Tourism Development Corporation (TTDC) on Wednesday took possession of SRM Hotel on Race Course Road in Tiruchi, run by former MP and Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi (IJK) founder Paarivendhar. This follows the expiry of a 30-year lease agreement and the six weeks’ time granted by the Supreme Court to the SRM management to pay ₹20 crore to the State government.

With a large contingent of police personnel posted at the venue, a team of senior TTDC officials led by Assistant Commercial Manager Venkatesan, accompanied by revenue officials, went to the hotel on Wednesday and served the management a notice, informing it that the government was taking control of the hotel.

Citing the orders of the TTDC, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court, and the Supreme Court, the officials asked the staff to vacate the premises. The management sought time to make a decision.

However, the TTDC officials insisted that the staff vacate the premises immediately. The officials subsequently took control of the premises. While a group of TTDC staff took over the operation of the front office, another group took over two multi-cuisine and continental restaurants. Similarly, the TTDC posted another group to manage the bar attached to the hotel. Journalists were not allowed inside the premises during the operation.

Confirming the developments, Collector V. Saravanan told The Hindu that the premises had been brought under the control of the TTDC with immediate effect, as the hotel management had failed to pay ₹20 crore as per the Supreme Court direction. In an order passed in August, the court granted six weeks to the management to pay the amount to the government.

Stating that the officials did not face any resistance from the staff, Mr. Saravanan added that 38 employees of TTDC had been posted to run the hotel. There were 60 guests when the TTDC took control of it. The operations of the hotel would not be affected, and the guests would be allowed to stay as per their bookings, he said.

In June last year, the TTDC had attempted to take control of the property following the expiry of a 30-year lease for 4.70 acres of land. It had said ₹47.93 crore was fixed as the lease amount, but the hotel management had paid only ₹9.08 crore since 1994. The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court granted an interim relief to SRM Hotels Pvt Ltd. However, a Division Bench of the Madras High Court ruled in favour of the State and TTDC. Challenging the order, the hotel filed a Special Leave Petition in the Supreme Court, which had directed SRM Hotels Pvt Ltd to pay ₹20 crore.