NDMC taking steps to ensure hotels pay ‘appropriate’ rent, claim officers

Facing flak for allowing a hotel in central Delhi to operate virtually for free’ for seven years, the NDMC has claimed that it has taken steps to ensure charging of appropriate rent.

The New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) asserted that the order to maintain the rent at Rs 35,000 per month, was passed by an estate officer in his judicial capacity. ‘The estate officer is appointed by LG and he took the decision of fixing a lower rent for Hotel Asian International in his judicial capacity,’ said Himanshu Ranjan, deputy director or estates in NDMC. The NDMC’s comments came two days after the Delhi High Court pulled it up for accepting a miniscule amount from the hotel situated at Janpath in central Delhi.

The licence to operate the hotel was granted to BK Bhagat in 1977 at a fee of Rs 35,000 per month. After expiry of lease in 2007, it asked Bhagat to vacate the premises. But the hotelier went to a lower court and got a stay, Ranjan said.

The civic body then called for the intervention of an estate officer, who in 2012 ruled in favour of the hotelier and asked him to pay the same rent of Rs 35,000 per month, as against NDMC’s demand of Rs 35 lakh per month. Interestingly, the civic body continues to issue a bill of approximately Rs 35 lakh per month after which Bhagat went to the High Court.