Capital’s Janpath Hotel to make way for govt offices
NEW DELHI: Janpath Hotel, one of the state-run ITDC’s prime properties in the capital, will soon be demolished and redeveloped to house central government offices, three government officials familiar with the development said, detailing a plan, which could spell the end of an iconic hotel that has fallen on hard times.
A committee of secretaries headed by cabinet secretary PK Sinha, set up last year to work out details such as land usage and how the hotel property should be used, has approved the proposal to develop the 4.4 acre plot in the heart of the capital for so-called General Pool Official Accommodation (GPOA).
The Janpath Hotel has a built-up space of five lakh sq ft.
Together with another five acre plot on 30 Thyagraj Marg that the government has identified for developing GPOA, this will result in creation of approximately 1 million sq ft of space for housing central government offices.
Last year, the government decided to exit four ITDC-run hotels across India, including Janpath Hotel, as part of its ₹72,500 crore disinvestment plan for 2017-18. As part of the process, last May, the Union cabinet approved the transfer of Janpath Hotel to the Union housing and urban affairs ministry, the owner of the land.
Delhi has a huge shortage of land to accommodate central government offices, forcing many of them to run from rented properties.
The Union housing and urban affairs ministry estimates the shortage at 4.2 million sq ft. “The Janpath Hotel property has a built up space of 500,000 sq ft, of which it was using just 50,000 . To make more optimal use of the available space and save government the money spent on renting properties to house various central government offices, it was decided to redevelop it for GPOA,” one of the officials said on the condition of anonymity.
According to realty experts, the Janpath Hotel property would have fetched a windfall if it was used to develop commercial office space. “In Connaught Place, the current built-up sale price of commercial properties is in the range of ₹20,000 per sq ft while the going rental rate for commercial properties in the area is ₹200 sq ft per month,” said Anuj Puri, chairman, Anarock Property Consultants.
Another realty expert, who did not want to be named, said it is not a fair comparison since the government will be using the property to house its employees, which is equally important considering the shortage of office space.