2 min readNew DelhiAug 25, 2015 01:14 AM IST
First published on: Aug 25, 2015 at 01:14 AM IST
The restaurant at Lodhi Garden. (Express file)
Months after proceedings for the auction of Taj Mansingh Hotel was initiated by the New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC), the restaurant at Lodhi Garden will soon be going under the hammer.
The council maintained that revenue generated from the property was lower than the average market rates.
Spread across an area of over 2,000 sq ft covered space and over 16,000 sq ft of open space, the fine-dining restaurant serves European, Mediterranean and Lebanese cuisines. In July 2003, the property had been leased out to Aresko Restaurant Limited for a period of 10 years. When the lease expired in July 2013, the council raised objections to renewal of the licence. Following this, the restaurant owners approached the Delhi High Court on the matter, seeking a renewal of the lease.
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According to NDMC officials, the current licencee is paying around Rs 60,000 per month. “The market rates for leasing the property is considerably huge. The decision to conduct a fresh auction was taken because the council was not receiving the appropriate revenue for the property. Hence, we decided that the property should be auctioned and the licence should not be extended,” a senior NDMC official said.
“While the case is sub-judice, the court has not issued an order… So, the council has decided to initiate proceedings for its auction. The entire process will be conducted online, making it easier for bidders and will bring about complete transparency,” the NDMC official said.
For the auction, the NDMC plans to seek the help of MSTC Limited, a government company which has been engaged in domestic and international trading activity for the last three decades.
Elaborating on the e-auctioning process, the official said, “Bidders will be asked to send their applications in the next few days. Companies interested in the property and who meet a set of requirements can register with their details online. Once a company logs in, a password will be generated. The idea behind conducting an e-auction is to make the process hassle-free and transparent.”
Despite repeated attempts, the Lodhi Restaurant licencee could not be contacted for comments.
The restaurant at Lodhi Garden. (Express file)
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