RSS body locks horns with Tourism Min to save Rs 4,800 cr Janpath Hotel

RSS' Bharatiya Mazdoor Sangh (BMS), the umbrella body of right wing trade unions in the country, has locked horns with the Tourism Ministry to save Janpath Hotel from disinvestment. The five star public property spread on 4.41 acre prime land in Lutyens' Delhi which costs around Rs 4,800 crore was declared 'loss making unit' and approved for disinvestment by the ministry last year.

"Perusal of contents reveals that this is a profit making, globally recognised public sector unit in the field of Hotel and Tourism without the support of government. The closure or disinvestment of such a viable unit result into hampering smooth operation and loss of national revenue," said Virjesh Upadhyay, BMS General Secretary, in a letter to Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley. BMS, the watershed of right wing trade unions in the country first tried to solve it with the Ministry of Tourism but has now approached the Finance Minister to reject the report of tourism ministry on financial health of the hotel.

BMS affiliated trade unions at Janpath hotel and ITDC have been fighting with the hotel management against disinvestment proposal since February, 2016 it was proclaimed 'loss making unit'. "The issues raised in the above public grievance may be examined and para-wise replies may be sent to this department urgently," said Aseem Kumar Jha, Under Secretary, Ministry of Finance, on February 22 in response to Upadhyay's letter.

"The hotel earned Rs 8.32 crore profit in 2015-16. The day we took on management to expose their falsehood they are administering poison to make the hotel bleed financially," said Rakesh Bhanot, Geneal Secretary of All India ITDC Workers' Federation. Bhanot is also a middle level employee at this hotel.

Millennium Post is in possession of the documents which reveal that out of 213 rooms of the hotel only 50 rooms are available for customers. The management had locked 100 rooms since May 2016 for renovation; in addition 32 rooms vacated by PMO were also locked without any reason.

The employees alleged that the management is elbowing out tenants from shopping area. The documents reveal that the hotel purchases egg, milk, ice cream and charcoal on daily basis as the contracts are pending since past three to five years increasing expenditure many fold. "The corrupt officers prosecuted in CWG scam have been reappointed on the sole ground of lack of 'senior staff'. They are administering poison to the hotel by decreasing earnings and increasing expenditure to plunge it into huge financial deficit," alleged Bhanot.

"All the employees are ready to pool their PF and put it as guarantee before the government. If we are given the management rights we will make Janpath a huge profit making unit," he claimed.

The documents also show that till 2013 the hotel was paying Rs 30 lakh per month to a contractor for floor polishing but after the protest by the employees' union the contract was cancelled.

"We forced the management to procure the machine and hire employees. The work now costs around Rs 3 lakh per annum. The management is in connivance to sell this prime land in Lutyens' Delhi on throwaway price to a builder for their vested interests," alleged Bhanot.

In 2002, Laxmi Vilas Hotel, Udaipur was disinvested in Rs 7.5 crore which was 5 per cent of its actual price in which CBI had booked Disinvestment Secretary Pradeep Baijal, purchaser Jyotsna Suri and consultant Ashish Guha.