The Taj Mansingh Hotel. (Express Archive)
After a second unsuccessful attempt to auction the licence rights of the Taj Mahal Hotel on Mansingh Road, the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has floated a fresh tender inviting bids for the auction on July 18.
As per the previous tender floated on April 25, the auction was scheduled for June 19. But it had to be annulled as it attracted only a single bidder, as opposed to the minimum requirement of three bidders.
Tata Group’s Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) had signed a lease agreement for the 3.78-acre property with the NDMC in 1976. The 33-year lease expired in 2011, after which NDMC has been attempting to re-auction the hotel. The property has been mired in dispute ever since, with IHCL and the Council going to court.
After its auction on January 30 failed to invite bidders, the NDMC softened the stringent technical qualifications demanded from an eligible bidder in its April 25 tender. But the modified technical condition was still found to be too rigid for potential bidders.
The only bid came in from IHLC, while the ITC Group’s application could not be processed due to technical reasons.
However, the NDMC has decided not to relax the conditions this time.
NDMC vice-chairman Karan Singh Tanwar told The Indian Express that if the tender falls through this time as well, the council will have to revise the eligibility conditions once again.
The submission of technical bids opens on June 28 and closes on July 9.
An NDMC official said, “Nobody has said that the conditions are too stringent. If it is felt so by interested parties, we will find out during the pre-bid conference on June 25. On our part, we have extended the time available for interested parties to submit their bids.”