The Madras High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition by P.Orr and Sons, challenging a Chennai Corporation notice for demolishing the rear portion of its showroom on Anna Salai.
Earlier, Chennai Metro Rail Limited (CMRL) required a portion of the building for its project, and the land, owned by Associated Publishers, was acquired three years ago. After the acquisition, one portion of the building was pulled down.
In the process, a wall on the second floor on the southwest corner collapsed, forcing the firm to undertake restoration work. The owner then took an opinion from experts at IIT-Madras, who said the structure was weakened.
Based on this opinion, the Corporation issued a notice last April, asking the petitioner to fence off the rear portion to prevent any damage, and take down about 894 sq. ft. of the building. The firm contended the building was strong, and as per the Chennai City Municipal Corporation Act, authorities should first explore the option of repairing the building.
The Corporation said that once CMRL started the work, using heavy machinery, the building would be exposed to heavy vibrations that would threaten its load-bearing capacity.
Associated Publishers said that, as per the IIT-M report, the building was in a precarious condition, and it would be blamed for any accident.
“Today, several heads in several departments of the government roll whenever a building collapses resulting in loss of lives,” Justice V. Ramasubramanian said, dismissing the petition.
