Hotelier drags dist admin to HC over lack of bill payment

HOSPITALITY TIE-UP TAKES BITTER TURN

Management of Hotel Pawan alleges to court that authorities unilaterally took over the facility to house doctors and decided on a low rate per room, did not even respond to communications; meanwhile, other hoteliers allege the same

Weeks after the district administration looked at the hospitality sector to cater to the demand of housing healthcare staff and patients amid the battle against COVID-19, a legal war has erupted between the two entities.

A Pune-based hotelier has filed a writ petition against the district administration in Bombay High Court (HC), stating that the authorities have failed to reimburse the required amount for utilising the facility. The petitioner has alleged that the administration not only failed to clarify the charges, but also unilaterally acquired the hotel. Now, the court has stated that the district collector should call a meeting to resolve this dispute amicably.

Meanwhile, a few more hoteliers have also claimed that the payment of bills for usage of their facilities remains pending till date, pointing to a larger issue at play. The district administration had acquired various hotels for the stay of nurses and doctors working in COVID-19 wards towards the beginning of the outbreak.

One of these was the Hotel Pawan in Mangalwar Peth, owned by Poona Urban Properties Private Limited.

The owners of the same company have moved court at the end of June, stating that the administration has failed to clear its payments and is also not giving them the rate they had originally quoted. The petition has stated, “The district administration acquired the property via an order on April 18, 2020, for housing medical professionals. The petitioner provided the best possible hospitality to these inhabitants at the cost of risking lives and health of staff, which would entail greater complications and consequences. The hotel continues to remain acquired and occupied. The property was provided at a concessional rate, ranging from Rs 900 for regular single rooms to Rs 1,300 for executive double rooms. This rate has not changed in the last four years, and is the lowest in the vicinity. However, the respondent has not only neglected to respond to any communications in this regard, but has also outright refused the reasonable rates and fixed the abysmally low rate of Rs 500 per room.”

The petitioner further argued that the district administration first unilaterally issued orders to acquire the property, sought the rates after this, and then rejected them. A communication sent by the hotel management that they cannot accept rates quoted by the administration was allegedly ignored.

Citing this, the petitioner further stated, “The writ petition is being filed to challenge the illegal, arbitrary action of the district disaster management authority in taking over the property without the authority of law and without payment of compensation. Despite providing the necessary facilities as a responsible entity, after availing services, the authorities have failed to pay and neglected to respond to communications.” The petition urged the court to give ad interim relief and direct the authority for payment of the said costs.

After hearing the petition, the court in its order stated, “Issues such as payment of compensation, availability of amenities, etc. are not possible for us to decide at first instance in the writ jurisdiction. It would be appropriate if the collector calls the parties for a meeting, where it can be attempted for such issues to be resolved amicably.”

The next hearing of the case has been scheduled for August 6.

Even as this development takes place, other hoteliers from the city have also now raised similar disputes. Ajit Bhutte Patil, owner of the Suraj Classic hotel in Somwar Peth, claimed, “The administration utilised my property from April 17 to July 17. They unilaterally came up with the Rs 500 per room rate and also decided to pay only for rooms occupied. There were other issues as well. So, I had to stop them from using the facility. But leave alone clearing the bill, they have not even signed the document for it.”

Another hotelier from Somwar Peth, who chose to stay unnamed, shared, “We got an email from the collector stating that we need to give up the hotel for doctors during the pandemic. We did so, but told them we don’t have staff. Doctors started staying in the facility. We have a rack rate of Rs 2,750 per room. But later, they stated they would not be able to pay this amount. We have an outstanding bill of over Rs 10 lakh. Even after negotiation, it will come to Rs 5-7 lakh. When we are all suffering, they should oblige and settle things with us.”

Asked about this, collector Naval Kishore Ram said, “We have decided that we will not do injustice to anyone. There are multiple hotels involved in our efforts. Quality of service provided also needs to be taken into consideration. But we are trying to resolve all this and do the payments as soon as possible.”