Banking on land

TOURISM: To acquire more land for hotels, the tourism ministry is coordinating with state government s and other ministries.

Finally, the ministry of tourism (MoT) is playing the role it is supposed to "" of coordinating between different government ministries to facilitate tourism. It has reportedly asked the ministry of urban development to identify sites for hotels.

According to sources, the ministry has asked the Land and Development Officer (LNDO), a part of the urban development ministry, as well as Delhi Development Authority not to auction sites as it leads to escalation in land cost.

Instead, it has suggested giving out land on a revenue sharing or a license fee basis. Both DDA and LNDO have, however, got back to MoT citing problems with the agreement.

LNDO, meanwhile, has decided to transfer three sites "" at Kalkaji, Qutab Institutional Area, and Rouse Avenue "" to MoT soon. These will form a part of the land bank that is being created under the plan. The tourism ministry will have to pay Rs 22 lakh an acre to LNDO, for which the Planning Commission has given its approval.

According to a ministry official, Rouse Avenue has three more possible hotel sites. The other sites that have been identified (and which are with LNDO) are on Baba Kharak Singh Marg, within a 4 km radius of the airport, behind Andhra Pradesh Bhawan and on Kasturba Gandhi Marg.

The plot of land on Baba Kharak Singh Marg was given to the Indian Airlines but is lying unused and the one on Kasturba Gandhi Marg is with Maharashtra Sadan.

In the early 1980s, some bungalows meant to house ministers of Parliament were demolished at Windsor Place in Delhi, where Le Meridien and Shangri-La (formerly Kanishka) stand today.

According to a source, three more such corners are available on the circle, which could be used for building hotels, making it a complete hotel circle.

The Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) as well as Airports Authority of India (AAI) have also been asked to build 10 hotels (including budget hotels) with at least 3,000 rooms around the new airport "" a proposal to which both DIAL and AAI have agreed. "There exists a masterplan for four hotels with a total of 1,000 rooms around the airport," say sources.

The ministry has also asked other state governments to create land banks. States like Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh have already created land banks with specific concessions for hotels in various categories.

At a seminar on tourism in Andhra Pradesh last month, tourism secretary A K Misra advised the state tourism department to "come out with a specific land policy under which land banks are created in suitable locations in the tourism zones. Such land, after development, can be allotted to private parties for building budget hotels on an annual rental basis."

The ministry has also asked the ministry of urban development to increase the floor space index (FSI) limit for hotels to address the growing need for more hotel rooms across the country.