Indian Hotels Company Limited (IHCL) is likely to get an extension of three months to operate The Taj Mahal Hotel on Mansingh Road here after its lease expires next month. Tata-owned IHCL has been running the hotel for past 35 years and its lease is due to expire on October 10. The New Delhi Municipal Council, which owns the property located in the heart of the capital, is yet to come to any conclusion on auctioning the hotel as it is waiting for the Solicitor General’s opinion. NDMC officials said the civic body is likely to extend IHCL’s lease by at least three months as it cannot reach a decision on the issue until it gets the opinion of the Solicitor General. The decision to grant the three months extension to IHCL is likely to be taken during the next council meeting to be held on October 7. An official said, “The election code of conduct for the Assembly polls in Delhi is likely to be in place in a few days and it will become difficult to auction the property during that time.” However, NDMC chairperson Jalaj Srivastava said that the agency can approach the Election Commission for a “special permission” to auction the property in that case. “If the agency gets the Solicitor General’s opinion during the time when the code of conduct is in place, we can seek special permission from the Election Commission to allow us to auction the hotel,” NDMC chairperson Jalaj Srivastava said.
