Taj Mansingh's lease set to be extended

The hotel is likely to get a lease extension of six months

Taj Mahal Hotel on Mansingh Road here is likely to get a lease extension of six months, till March 2014, by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC). After several extensions, the lease for the property is set to expire on October 10.

The proposal for an extension till March 2014 would be discussed at the next NDMC meeting on October 7.

NDMC is yet to receive the solicitor general’s views on the first right of refusal to the Taj Group. It cannot hold an auction during the Delhi Assembly elections due to certain clauses in the Election Commission’s code of conduct. The civic body is hopeful it would be able to start the auction process by the end of the year, after the polls. “Three months are sufficient to finish the auction process. Therefore, there is no need for an extension of the lease beyond March,” said NDMC Chairman Jalaj Srivasatava.

To expedite the auction process, the council is prepared with bid documents for two possible scenarios (Taj being given the first right of refusal, or otherwise). For the prized asset in Lutyens’ Delhi, NDMC is expecting bids from international chains.

In April, Indian Hotels Company (IHC), which operates the Taj Group hotels, had approached the Delhi High Court to secure a stay on the auction of its Mansingh property. The matter would be heard on November 7. The court had assured the company it could seek legal recourse if NDMC took any coercive action.

The company had signed a 33-year lease agreement for the property, which expired in October 2011. Subsequently, NDMC extended it by a year. While the company expected the lease to be renewed in October 2012, NDMC decided to hold an auction within a year.