Delhi's Taj Mahal Hotel to go Under the Hammer in 3 Months

A three-month reprieve has been provided for the Tata-owned Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) for operating the Taj Mahal Hotel, Mansingh Road. Meanwhile, NDMC will go all out to complete the auction of the property by then.

"The Home Ministry had issued a directive to us that the hotel ought to be auctioned. I had placed the matter before the council, which has instructed me to complete the auction proceedings within three months and Taj Mansingh has been given an extension to continue its operations till then," said NDMC chairperson Jalaj Srivastava, reports India Today.

NDMC had given the property to IHCL on lease for 33 years. The company got six temporary extensions since the lease expired in 2011.

As NDMC was unable to hold an auction because of the 2015 Delhi polls, another extension was given on 31 January.

The current lease agreement has now been extended till 30 June. It was due to expire on 31 March.

"This is the final extension given to Tata's and we will have to rush the proceedings. I will also be presenting a weekly report to the Council on the progress made in this context," said Srivastava.

"We do not have experience within the NDMC to go for an auction process of this level and complexity, so we will be inviting proposals for transaction advisors, whose selection is likely to be completed within a month's time," added Srivastava.