For its hotels, CITCO mulls PPP mode, forms 7-member panel

The committee will submit its report at the earliest possible.
The employees’ union that is against the PPP model has written to the chairman and managing director of CITCO.

The union said that they are writing to express their concern regarding the adoption or implementation of the PPP model in CITCO.
“It has come to notice that CITCO has adopted the public-private partnership (PPP) model for CITCO hotels. It appears that CITCO has already started leasing out some of its properties/units under this model, which is causing financial losses,” they specified.

They quoted a few examples. Like the Drop-In cafe, Sector 34, Chandigarh.
As regards drop-in leasing out to private party, the party has not deposited the licence fee since the allotment in 2020. The matter has been under dispute and no payment has been made by the party to date. Due to this nonpayment and court fees, the corporation has been incurring financial losses and the revenue from the unit concerned has remained blocked, resulting in CITCO facing revenue losses, they mentioned.

It was also mentioned that as for Baithak Restaurent and Banquet, Kalagram unit leasing out to the private party, the party surrendered the premises without prior notice and also did not clear their outstanding dues.
At present, the Baithak, Kalagram, is not functional resulting in CITCO facing revenue losses, they mentioned.

Regarding Magic Wok Restaurant, Hotel Mountview, they said that the management had decided to lease out the “Magic Wok” Chinese restaurant at Hotel Mountview (a five-star property of CITCO) to a private party for operation. However, this proposal also did not succeed.
“Presently, neither the Chinese restaurant nor the Indian restaurant at Magic Wok has started functioning at Hotel Mountview, Sector 10, Chandigarh,” it mentioned.

On Health Club, Hotel Mountview, it was said that the club is a good example for CITCO authorities, as they decided to re-tender its contract.
“This decision was made because the party was not providing satisfactory services, and the rates offered by the Health Club of Hotel Mountview were much lower. CITCO decided to re-enter the tender process. However, the existing licensee of the health club did not vacate the premises, as he had filed a court case against CITCO in the District Court which passed the order in favour of the licensee. Now, the case is still under dispute in High Court. The licensee continues to operate the health club without interruption. As a result, CITCO is facing financial losses,” it said.

“Our hotels are performing very well, and the revenue can increase further if the management improves operational efficiency and attract a greater number of guests. It is necessary to recruit skilled staff and undertake renovation of the existing hotel properties. These measures will enhance service standards, strengthen the brand image and identity, and ultimately lead to improved revenue generation. We are humbly requesting the CITCO management not to adopt/consider the public-private partnership (PPP) model for CITCO hotels,” they said.