New Delhi Municipal Council invites e-auction of three premium hotels

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) issued a notice on Tuesday inviting e-auction of its three premium hotels in Lutyen's Delhi, including Taj Mansingh, The Asian and The Connaught. The civic body had decided to auction these hotels last year after their lease period had expired years ago. The lease period, said officials, will be 99 years while the licensed period will be of 33 years.

The pre-bid meeting for the auction for all three five-star hotels is scheduled to be held on May 11 while applicants can start submitting their bids from May 15 onwards. The last date for submission of bids is set on June 7.

According to the officials, the minimum reserve price for Taj Mansingh is kept at Rs 34 crore and for the Asian and Connaught at Rs 45 lakhs and Rs 9 lakhs, respectively.

The lease of Taj Mansingh had expired in 2011. However, the civic body could not auction the property then as it was tied up in a legal battle with the Tata Group of Hotels, which has been operating the legendary hotel property since 1978.

Last year, the civic body had also cancelled Le Meridien's license for its failure to pay its pending dues amounting to Rs 520 crore. Also, the NDMC is at present redetermining the license of The Lalit, as its license expired in 2014. However, the latter has approached the court for the same.