The managers of Hotel Crowne Plaza in Alwarpet were excited when the hotel was chosen to be the accommodation hub for players of Chennai Super Kings, the popular team in IPL T20 cricket. A bill board on the property sent wishes to the players.
And then matters went topsy-turvy with the base for the CSK team being shifted to Pune following the city police saying it would not be able to handle security around the Chepauk stadium following protests held at the first match by political and fringe activist groups agitating on the issue of formation of the Cauvery Water Board.
The hotel’s rooms fell empty.
The promoters of the hotel, Adyar Gate Hotels were also facing the heat from Chennai Corporation on property tax arrears which the civic body said ran into a few crores of rupees. The issue was taken to court by the hotel which granted it a time-bound repayment schedule.
Now, the hotel has gone back to court saying while it paid the first installment to Chennai Corporation it needed more time to respect the repayment time frame because its room occupancy dropped after the CSK team moved out.
The Madras High Court has acknowledged the hotel’s contention and given it time to make the repayment. The civic body had made a demand of property tax for Rs.24.88 crores spread over many years.
No tags for this post.
