Five ITDC properties to go on sale next week

NEW DELHI: The next week will witness disinvestment of five Indian Tourist Development Corporation (ITDC) properties in Kovalam, Manali, Calcutta, Aurangabad and Khajuraho. While Kovalam property is the most sought after property and is expected to receive a huge response from hoteliers for a buyout, the other four properties are likely to attract only private investors.
All prospective buyers of ITDC properties will now have to fund a voluntary retirement scheme for employees though it will be implemented before the sale and administered by ITDC. Till now, all VRS packages that are implemented before the sale of a PSU are funded by the government.
In fact, buyers of 14 ITDC properties up for sale, will present two cheques for buyout. One cheque will be the price for the property being bought, while the other will be the cost of VRS that has already been implemented by the ITDC.
According to industry sources, Bharat Hotels has emerged as a strong contender for Kovalam and Manali properties. Bharat Hotels has already bagged two ITDC properties, Ashok Bangalore and Laxmi Vilas Palace at Udaipur.
The government has leased out Ashok Bangalore on a 30 year long term lease to them. The government has dropped two properties from the disinvestment list- Hotel Ashok and Hotel Janpath.
Hotel Ashok is to be revamped and Hotel Janpath is being converted into Bharat Paryatan Bhavan housing the tourism ministry.