NDMC may set Taj Mansingh auction date within a month, tender unchanged: Report

New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) may set the auction date for the Taj Mansingh hotel within a month and will not make any changes to the existing tender, The Economic Times reports.

"The auction will take place on the same tender," a source told the paper.

The tender mandates three bidders for the hotel in order for the auction to proceed, but the government could relax the condition to allow two bidders, the report said.

Tata Group's Indian Hotels Company Ltd emerged as the sole bidder for the property last week, which led to cancellation of the auction scheduled for June 20. June 7 was the last date for submitting bids.

ITC Hotels too had submitted a bid but the e-bid could not go through, the report said. "ITC is interested in bidding for the property," an official told The Economic Times. 

IHCL, which currently operates the property, had earlier moved the Supreme Court to stay the order on grounds that the tender did not take into account the company's "blemish-free" record.

The Supreme Court had in April 2017 permitted NMDC to conduct an e-auction of the hotel, rejecting IHCL's claim over Taj Mansingh.

The first auction was to be held on January 30 this year, but was scrapped.