The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has announced the e-auction of three of its premium hotels in Lutyen's Delhi, including...

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) has announced the e-auction of three of its premium hotels in Lutyen's Delhi, including the five-star property Taj Mansingh, for a period of 33 years. The other two hotels are -- The Connaught and Hotel Asian International. The civic body held a pre-bid meeting for the three properties last week and the submission period of bids is from May 15-June 7. "The auction of the three properties has been pending for quite a while. We have announced the launch of e-auction for all three of them and are inviting bids. The e-auction will be conducted through MSTC Ltd, a central PSU, and SBI Capital Market Limited will be the transaction advisor for the auction," a senior NDMC official told PTI. Taj Mansingh was earlier given to Tata Groups Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) on a lease for 33 years, which ended in 2011. The company was since given nine temporary extensions.

However, the civic body could not auction the property then as it was tied up in a legal battle with IHCL, which has been operating the hotel property since 1978. The NDMC had last year decided to auction Hotel Connaught and re-auction Asian Hotel, after they were sealed by it in 2015 due to non-payment of license fees dues. In January last year, the Asian Hotel was e-auctioned fetching Rs 45.5 lakh per month as a license fee, the highest-ever for the agency. But, the bidder later refused to take the property necessitating a re-auction.