James Plaza gets a year to complete construction

The delay of five-and-half-months caused by the UT Administration in sanctioning the revised building plan went in the favour of James Plaza. The Bench,thus,granted the time (five-and-half-months) to the petitioner along with additional six months to complete the construction. The owner is,however,liable to pay the extension fee as per rules.

The hotel site in Sector 17,where Hotel James Plaza is under construction,was resumed for the third time by the UT Estate Office in May last year. The site has been mired in controversies ever since its allotment. The site worth about Rs 200 crore is lying unused in the city’s most prime sector ¿ Sector 17 ¿ for the last over two decades. In 1985,Mehfil Hotels had purchased the site for Rs 83.50 lakh. In 1986,the lease deed was signed. The site was later resumed on the ground of “non-payment of the balance amount”.

The owners of the site went in for an appeal to the then Adviser to Administrator,who directed them to pay Rs 80 lakh. When they failed,the site was resumed again on February 15,2006. An appeal was once again filed before the then UT Adviser Lalit Sharma. On May 2,2007,Sharma restored the site on a condition that the owners complete the construction of the hotel within one year,failing which the UT Estate office’s decision of ‘resumption of the site’ will automatically come into force. Till May 23,2008,when the hotel construction could not be completed,the UT Deputy Commissioner-cum-Estate Officer R K Rao ordered resumption of the hotel site,which prompted the owners of the site to approach the Punjab and Haryana High Court,pleading relief.