NDMC decides to auction 3 hotels

New Delhi: Nearly six months after the New Delhi Municipal Council had cleared the auction of the Taj Mahal  Hotel, the civic body has decided to invite bids for e-auction of the hotel along with two others in the Lutyens zone. 

A decision to float tenders for the auction within this month was taken at a council meeting on Wednesday, presided over by chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. 

The tender process for the auction will be initiated within this month, officials said. 

“The proposal for conducting auctions of the three hotels was discussed in detail. It was decided that the tender process would be initiated within this month. The e-auction will be conducted through MSTC Ltd, a central PSU, and SBI Capital Market Ltd will be the transaction advisor for the auction,” a senior NDMC official said.

Following a legal battle lasting six years, the council gave the go-ahead to an auction of the Taj Mahal Hotel in March. The, auctiomn’s modalities were still being worked out. 

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 the NDMC decided to auction the property,  the IHCL approached the Delhi high court. The company's plea was dismissed in October 2016 and the court allowed the council to auction the property.

In November 2016, the IHCL moved the SC saying there was no need to auction the hotel as it was generating good revenue for the civic body. The SC asked the NDMC to review its decision, but the civic body demurred. 

The council has also decided to auction Hotel Connaught and re-auction Asian Hotel, after the duo was sealed by the former in 2015 due to non-payment of license fees dues.