The five-star Taj Mahal Hotel, at Mansingh Road in the Capital, is set to be in the hands of the Tata Group for another four months. Prolonged indecision over the lease row coupled with the Model Code of Conduct coming into force any time soon will result in extension of the lease till the parliamentary polls are over. The direction from the Home Ministry with regard to auctioning of the property is also awaited and the officials of New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) said the same could only be obtained after the polls. The lease of the five-star hotel run by the Tata-owned Indian Hotels Company limited (IHCl) expires on March 31.
“So far, we have not received the opinion of the Solicitor General. As soon as we get the directives from the Union Home Ministry, which is the controlling authority of the civic body, we will immediately take the issue in our council. A meeting can be called within 48 hours. However, all this would not be possible once the Code of Conduct kicks in,” said Jalaj Shrivastava, chairman, NDMC. The civic body had written to SG, Mohan Parasaran, back in September last year.
Time is running out for the NDMC as the Election Commission is likely to declare Code of Conduct within a week or two. The agency, by any means, cannot hold an auction during this time. This would be the fourth time the civic agency would be giving an extension to the company. “The auction will take a few months if the SG gives its directions which come through the Home Ministry. Our aim is to get international chains to bid for which we would have to give enough preparation time to the companies,” added Shrivastava. The issue is also in the High Court after the IHCl filed an injunction to get a stay on the auction. The next date of hearing for the same is April 16. The company had first approached the court to secure a stay on the auction in April last year. The Taj Group’s contention is it cannot be treated as just another licensee, which can be replaced after the end of a term.
Even though the land belongs to NDMC, Indian Hotels has invested money in the construction of the hotel’s building. The company, therefore, claims to have equity in the property. The company had signed a 33-year lease agreement for the property, which expired in October 2011.