Eighth lease extension on cards for Taj Mansingh

With rejig of NDMC chairman, process could be delayed by 6 months, claim experts

The drama over Taj Mansingh hotel’s auction refuses to end. As the lease expires on June 30, after seven extensions, the Taj Mansingh hotel could get another breather in the absence of the auction process taking off. The auction process may be delayed since the previous New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) chairman Jalaj Srivastava, who was spearheading the auction modalities for the hotel, has been shifted to the agriculture ministry, sources said. In such a scenario, an eighth lease extension is likely, they pointed out.

NDMC had earlier set a three-month deadline till June 30 to auction off the hotel. To that end, NDMC had asked the coal ministry to guide the municipal body on auctions and share its experience with Metal & Scrap Trading Corporation (MSTC). MSTC concluded India’s first coal e-auction a month ago, awarding 40 blocks that would accrue mineral-rich states Rs 2.95 lakh crore over three decades. The municipal body had asked the coal ministry to share the experience of the coal block e-auction process.

“The coal ministry has responded favourably to NDMC’s enquiry about MSTC’s credentials. The next steps will be the municipal body’s to take,” said a senior official in the coal ministry.

The dates for the next council meeting, however, are yet to be decided. The council meeting will decide on the outcome of hiring auction managers for the process. The new NDMC chairman, Dharam Pal, who has replaced Srivastava, is also principal secretary (Social Welfare and Women & Child Development) in the Delhi government, thereby sharing a dual responsibility.

“No date for the next council meeting has been decided yet,’’ said an official from NDMC.

NDMC doesn’t have the necessary experience to go for an auction process of this complexity on its own, thereby requiring hand-holding. “With the process of hiring the new consultants to assist in the process itself getting delayed, the overall process could take at least another six months,” an industry insider stated.

Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL), which operates the property, will not get the right of first refusal. The home ministry has ordered an open auction, which is likely to attract Indian as well as global bidders. While the land and property belong to NDMC, IHCL had signed a 33-year lease agreement for managing the property. That lease expired in October 2011, after which auctioning of the property was due. There have been seven lease extensions since then, the most recent being awarded on March 31 till June 30.