'Illigal' portion of Oberoi Maidens razed on ASI complaint

NEW DELHI: A large portion of one of Delhi’s oldest modern hotels, Oberoi Maidens, was on Thursday demolished by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation on a complaint by the Archaeological Society of India.

“The hotel is a protected heritage monument where no new construction is allowed. The hotel had recently covered some open area. The demolition was done on a complaint by ASI which found violations of the building bylaws and rules pertaining to the protected buildings,” said Yogendra Singh Mann, director, press information at North Delhi Municipal Corporation.

A spokeswoman for Oberoi Hotels said, “We had no prior intimation of today’s action by MCD. We do not know why such action was taken. We are trying to find out more details.

Accordingly we are unable to make any comment.” According to sources in the corporation, the hotel was given time by the corporation to prove the legality of the structure, failing with the action was taken.