C Shivakumar
Chennai:
Indian Maritime University headquarters built on 300 acre
land at Semmanchery, located between Old Mahabalipuram Road (Rajiv Gandhi IT
Express Highway) and East Coast Road here is yet to get Chennai Metropolitan
Development Authority clearance.
CMDA sources said that the bone of contention is an approach
road, which IMU officials are unwilling to provide to plots on the Western side
of the proposed campus.
“We don’t want to allow any development that landlocks any
area and cuts down its development,” a CMDA source said.
“We want them to gift deed 10 metres of road that could help
provide connectivity to the plots behind the IMU campus. The discussion has
been going on for some time but IMU officials are reluctant to the proposal,”
the source said.
Interestingly, Shipping ministry
officials are desperate to get the clearance so that they can have the
necessary infrastructure in place for maritime university, which is now
functioning from Uthandi about 28 kms from Chennai in East Coast Road. The
asset value of the land in the area is roughly Rs 6,000 crore and initially 106
acres of land has been developed and the construction of administrative
building has been completed.
The entire land has been developed
and raised by 10 feet height at a cost of Rs 33 crore and work is in progress
for construction of approach bridge from the ECR .
Union Shipping secretary Vishwapati
Trivedi said on Monday that he met Tamil Nadu chief secretary Shiela
Balakrishnan and requested CMDA approval for the new headquarter building.
“She gave a patient hearing. Tamil
Nadu housing and urban development secretary was also present and hopefully
very soon we will be able to resolve the issue,” he said.
A CMDA source said that IMU has met
all development requirements. “The only issue is the approach road. If they
agree to it, the clearance could be given soon,” he added.
The
administrative building consists of academic block with 12 classrooms, faculty
rooms, separate hostel for girls and boys, central library, central computer
lab, conference hall and a convocation hall.
No comments:
Post a Comment