NDMC to re-auction iconic Taj Mansingh Hotel, to cancel Le Meridien licence

The NDMC has decided to re-auctionits three-star property in central Delhi's Janpath lane Hotel Asia International two months after it went under the hammer for an amount 15 times more than its lease value.

The move comes after the e-bidder selected in the first auction in January failed to comply with the terms and conditions of the bid.

A decision in this regard was taken at a recent meeting of the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), where the civic body had also decided to auction off the Taj Mansingh Hotel and cancel licence of Le Meridien over non-payment of dues.

"The council decided to conduct fresh e-auction for licensing out the 'Asian Hotel' and forfeit the Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) of the provisionally selected e-bidder as it failed to comply with the terms and conditions of thee-auction," a senior NDMC officials aid.

The earlier auction process for the property, which was sealed by the NDMC in February 2015 over unpaid licence fee ofRs 56 crores, had concluded in January.

The auction had fetched Rs 45.48 lakhs per month, over 15 times more than the earlier lease amount of Rs 3 lakh permonth.

The NDMC had taken possession of the property in June 2015 after the hotel authorities failed to abide by the eviction order on the expiry of its lease.

The civic body had last year decided to auction off the property with an area of 612.4 square metres. However, thereserve price was changed time and again as the process unfolded.

It was first suggested it would be rented out for a Request for Proposal (RFP) of Rs 61.88 lakhs per month. With no takers coming forward, the figure was brought down to Rs 28.73 lakhs and then to just Rs 14.40 lakhs, raising eyebrows that the decision was taken to "favour" a particular hospitality company.