Civic body officials have accused the ex-chairperson of letting the hotel get away without paying dues
The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has finally decided to launch an internal inquiry in to the alleged irregularities by civic body officials in recovering Rs 518 crore in dues from the five-star Le Meridien hotel.
In a meeting held on June 20, the Council, presided over by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, decided to set up a committee to probe the issue all over again.
Reportedly, the NDMC officials dealing with the case have accused the civic body's former Chairperson, Jalaj Srivastava, of letting the hotel authorities get away without paying any dues. In a letter sent to Kejriwal on March 3 this year, Srivastava, however, stated that the Council officials misled the CM on the issue.
"Since allegations have been made against the NDMC officials, it is recommended that a Committee of Council members be constituted, before which the department will place all the facts on the issues raised by Srivastava in the letter," the minutes of the meeting read.
After taking in to consideration all the facts and presentations made by the department, the Committee will give its findings to the Council for taking an appropriate decision in the matter. According to senior officials, the Committee will comprise elected representatives of the Central government, Delhi government, and nominated members from the Council.
In March, the NDMC had cancelled the license of the five-star hotel and the property is due for auction now.
The NDMC officials have alleged that the Council, then headed by Srivastava, allowed the luxury hotel to settle dues by accepting a one-time fee of over Rs 180 crore, resulting in a loss of Rs 400 crore to the exchequer.
Srivastava, who is now serving as the Additional Secretary in the Agriculture Ministry, in the letter to the CM, had written that he was being falsely implicated by the Council members.
Last year, the Central government had constituted the K K Pathak Committee to look into the alleged "irregularities" in paying of dues by four luxury hotels under the NDMC, including Le-Meridien.
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