The Times of India 03.03.2017
NDMC to e-auction Taj Mansingh hotel
Highlights
- NDMC will e-auction Taj Mansingh hotel at market rental
value - The property was given to Tata Group’s Indian Hotels
Company Ltd on a lease for 33 years - IHCL had moved SC saying there was no need to auction
the hotel as it was generating good revenue
Taj Mansingh hotel.
NEW DELHI: After a legal battle
lasting over six years, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has decided to
auction Taj Mansingh hotel. The decision was taken on
Thursday in a meeting chaired by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. NDMC, which
owns the public property, will e-auction the hotel at market rental value.
The property was given to Tata Group’s Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) on a
lease for 33 years, which ended in 2011. The company was since given nine
temporary extensions. After NDMC decided to auction the property, IHCL
approached Delhi high court. The company’s plea was dismissed in October 2016
with the court allowing the civic body to auction the property.
In November 2016, IHCL moved Supreme Court saying there was no need to auction
the hotel as it was generating good revenue for the civic body.
In January this year, SC directed NDMC to review its decision of auctioning the
hotel as the opinions of the top two legal officers of the country — Attorney
General and Solicitor General — were not considered by the council while taking
a decision to auction the property. NDMC was given six weeks’ time to review
its decision.
“We prepared the proposal after consulting the council members and law
officers. The same will be put up in SC. The final decision lies with SC, but
we are certain that the decision will be in NDMC’s favour,” said a senior
official.
Latest Comment
Since Taj Mansingh was generating
regular revenue for NDMC, the existing arrangement was unacceptable to Kejru.
He wants to kill the golden egg layer hen and collect all the golden eggs in
one go!Jagdish Madan
Meanwhile, NDMC will also be re-auctioning the Asian Hotel. The council had
earlier put an end to legal tangles with the previous owner, who was evicted
from the property on court orders. In January, the hotel was e-auctioned
fetching Rs 45.5 lakh per month as licence fee, the highest ever for the
agency.
