Hotel Janpath to shut down, likely to house govt offices
Union cabinet approves transfer of hotel to urban development ministry
Janpath Hotel, one of India Tourism Development Corporation’s (ITDC) prime properties in the Capital, will soon down its shutters and may house government offices.
Paving the way for the hotel’s closure, located in the heart of New Delhi, the Union cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday gave “in-principle” approval to transfer the property of Hotel Janpath to the Union urban development (UD) ministry.
“The property can be considered for construction of government offices and similar purposes, which would save government funds spent in hiring of government offices,” an official release said.
The decision to close down Hotel Janpath comes close on the heels of the cabinet’s decision last month to exit from three other ITDC hotels in Bhopal, Guwahati and Bharatpur.
It is part of the government’s Rs 72,500 crore disinvestment plan for 2017-18.
A committee of secretaries headed by the cabinet secretary will soon be constituted to work out details such as land usage and how the hotel property should be used.
Government officials said the hotel building has to undergo major rehabilitation work. An inspection report by IIT Roorkee had found the hotel structure “unserviceable” and in a “distressed condition.”
“The building did not meet the necessary seismic requirement too,” an official said.
As part of the disinvestment policy approved by the cabinet last month, it was decided to lease/sub-lease the hotels/properties jointly with the states concerned or return the properties to the states, after fair valuation.
States would then have the option to upgrade and operate the motels by involving the private sector or to utilize the properties as per their requirements.