New Delhi Municipal Council on Friday gave Indian Hotels Company Ltd (IHCL) an extension of six months to operate Taj Mansingh Hotel in Lutyens’ Zone here.

NDMC Chairman Jalaj Shrivastava told BusinessLine , “NDMC has extended the lease as it has not received any guidelines regarding this from the Home Ministry, which is the governing authority of the municipal body.”

He added that no response from the Solicitor-General has been received either. It has to come via the Union Home Ministry. This is the fifth such extension that IHCL has got from the NDMC since the expiry of the 33-year-old lease in October 2011.

It may be recalled that the civic body had earlier decided to hold auctions giving Tata’s the first right of refusal. However, the Home Ministry felt that giving the first right of refusal to IHCL will result in lower bid in the public auction of the property.

The iconic hotel saw interest from both national and international players such as ITC, Sahara, Oberoi, when the news of it going under the hammer first surfaced.

The matter went to the Home Ministry because it governs NDMC. In April 2013, IHCL had filed an injunction petition at the Delhi High Court claiming part ownership and that it had invested in the property. The court had said that NDMC cannot take any coercive action against IHCL.