The two assets in the Capital are seen to be lying idle and a decision on them could help provide much-needed boost to the Centre’s asset monetisation programme that has seen limited progress in this financial year.
In the case of JLN stadium, the government is looking to allow the winning bidder to undertake fresh construction so that accommodation is available for athletes and officials who come to Delhi for sports and other events. At the same time, the government is clear that it does not want to turn one of the most recognisable sports facilities in the country into areal estate property.
The stadium along with Indira Gandhi stadium are part of the monetisation programme for the sports ministry. The National Monetisation Pipeline unveiled last year had said the JLN stadium is expected to be a pioneer in creating a financially sustainable sporting model in the country through an OMDA (operation, management and development agreement) -based PPP (public private partnership) concession agreement for integrated development with shared usage of sports facilities.
The government is also keen on finalising the transaction for Hotel Ashok, the first state-run 5-star property, where the plan was to give the premises on lease, while allowing the construction of another hotel. In fact, initial discussions with potential bidders have been completed and based on the feedback one issue that has emerged is the treatment of the large area that is taken up by staff quarters. Sources said no decision on the issue has been taken so far, but acknowledged that it was a ticklish issue when the government had sought to privatise the hotel nearly 20 years ago as well.
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