Uttarakhand govt reject plea for land-use change

The Uttarakhand government has rejected a request of real estate developer Emaar MGF, which was at the centre of controversy during the Commonwealth Games held in New Delhi last year, to construct a mall at the site of its proposed five-star hotel here.

Emaar MGF had entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the state tourism department in 2007 to construct the hotel in the public-private partnership (PPP) mode with an investment of over Rs 200 crore. The department had given 10 acres of land to the company which it got from Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) at Garhi Cant area here as part of a tourism project.

Emaar MGF had entered into a tie-up with Inter-Continental Hotels Group (Singapore) for the management of the 200-bed hotel and the convention centre under the brand name “Holiday Inn.”

“We have decided not to allow Emaar MGF to construct a mall in the proposed the five-star hotel,” said Principal Secretary Tourism Rakesh Sharma.

Instead of a mall, the company can utilise 10 per cent of the land for building a shopping complex, he said.

Under the agreement, Emaar MGF had deposited Rs 1.20 crore to the state tourism department as the first installment of the annual lease rent in 2007 when the MoU was signed. The hotel was to be constructed in two to three years.

In the same year, however, owing to the financial meltdown, the company did not show any interest in building the hotel. But when the tourism department took up the matter, the company said it should be allowed to construct a mall along with the hotel which it said would be a better business proposition.

When asked whether any formal notice will be issued to Emaar MGF, Sharma said there was no need for such formality and expressed optimism that the company will honour its commitment. However, he said he has asked the housing department to approve the map of the hotel at the earliest so that the project should not be delayed any further. Sharma also indicated the government might return the lease rent to Emaar MGF in case the project fails to take off. “If it is not Emaar MGF, then it will be somebody else,” he said.