New Delhi Municipal Council defers Taj Mansingh auction again - Times of India

NEW DELHI: Once again, New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has deferred the public auction of Taj Mansigh, its hotel property that is managed by Indian Hotel Company Limited (IHCL). With cases pending in the Supreme Court and the Delhi high court, and the Union home ministry's recent letter suggesting that NDMC doesn't give the first right of refusal to IHCL as "it will result in lower bids", the civic agency on Thursday decided to take a fresh opinion from the solicitor-general of India through the Union ministries of home and Union development, said A K Mishra, spokesperson, NDMC. Delhi chief minister Sheila Dikshit, also a member of NDMC, was keen on getting fresh views, said sources. Karan Singh Tanwar, BJP MLA and member of NDMC, alleged that this was the government's tactics to give another extension to IHCL. "NDMC had hired a consultant to prepare a report on whether the property should be auctioned and spent close to Rs 70 lakh on it. What is the use of that report if we have to refer to the government again and again?" he said. Taj Mansingh's lease had expired on October 31, 2011, and was extended by a year in October 2012 due to a delay in the submission of the report by the consultant, Ernst and Young. "The contract will have to be finalized before October 31, 2013. But the process will get delayed further," said an official. After IHCL filed a case in the Delhi high court this April, NDMC had decided to convene a special meeting to discuss the auction but it never took place. "They are not interested in finalizing the issue. This suits both IHCL and the Congress-led government," said Tanwar. via Business - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNExEXQ5c0MiJPX4uSPl_5d5BF_q3A&url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/delhi/New-Delhi-Municipal-Council-defers-Taj-Mansingh-auction-again/articleshow/20807331.cms

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