A day before the date of auction, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC ) rescheduled the e- auction of five star Taj Man Singh hotel to July 18 for a license span of 33 years. The earlier date of e- auction was on June 19 declared void, and hence , the new submission date of bid is July 9.
“less than three bids have been received for the property,” the NDMC said in a notice. At least three Technically Qualified Bidders are required for the e-auction process.
It may be noted that council had decided to auction the iconic Taj hotel over dues of Rs 526 crore in 2017. The decision on Taj Mansingh, taken at a special meeting of the NDMC chaired by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, brings to an end a six-year-old tug of war between the NDMC and the Tata Group, which has operated the landmark property for nearly four decades.
Taj Mansingh, the five star property owned by the council, was given to Tata's Indian Hotels Company limited (IHCl) on lease for 33 years. The lease expired in 2011 and the company was given nine temporary extensions since then on various grounds.
The NDMC, under the administrative control of the Ministry of Home Affairs had got the nod to auction the hotel in March 2015 but the management of Taj Mansingh Hotel remained with IHCl as they went to court.
It may be noted that, NDMC had also selected SBI Cap, which was the Centre's adviser for coal blocks auctions, to be its transaction advisor for the auction. However, the process got delayed with the Tata's moving court.
In November 2016, IHCl had moved the SC against a Delhi High Court order allowing the NDMC to auction the hotel, arguing there was no need to do it as it generates good revenue for the civic body.