Cabinet soon to discuss ITDC's The Ashok hotel disinvestment

Disinvestment has been government's top agenda and sources tell Zee Business that core group of secretaries on disinvestment met on March 15 to finalise long lease sale of Hotel Ashok in Lutyens Delhi. The government has decided to lease out The Ashok and has also planned to monetise Ashok's land assets for developing a market complex and service apartments as part of its disinvestment plan. 

We are picking up from our sources that government is currently preparing a proposal and cabinet will likely take this in April with CCEA. Govt may in all likelihood also call in for bids post the cabinet proposal submission. Sources tell us that the core group of secretaries in their report have listed out an expectation of upto Rs 7000 crore from lease sale of The Ashok and monetisation of its assets. 

ITDC has shut most of its loss-making hotels across the country in order to clean up its balance sheet. Infact, Prahlad Singh Patel who is the tourism minister of the country had said in Loksabha in 2020 that wage structure of ITDC employees, competition from other modern hotels are few reasons that ITDC has been in recurring losses. 

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Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had in her previous budget for 2020-21 set a target of raising Rs 2.1 lakh crore from privatisation and sale of minority stakes in state-owned companies. This include Rs 1.20 lakh crore from selling stake in CPSEs and Rs 90,000 crore from stake sale in financial institutions. So far this fiscal, the government has garnered Rs 19,499 crore through minority stake sale in CPSEs and share buybacks.