Centaur deal referred to Law Ministry: Shourie

The government said on Wednesday that it has sought law ministry's opinion on the sale of Centaur Hotel in Mumbai after it was discovered that there was no written request for either the transfer of this property or its lease made to the concerned authorities.

 

"We have sent the matter of sale of Centaur to the law ministry because we do not want to put the entire divestment process under a cloud," Divestment Minister Arun Shourie said replying to a short-duration discussion on divestment in the Rajya Sabha.

 

"If this deal is found to be fraudulent, personal guarantee of the owner of A L Batra Group will be encashed," he said after a series of allegations by members, led by Shiv Sena's Sanjay Nirupam, who charged officials of the divestment ministry with currying favours in this deal.

 

Shourie

said it has been found that during the sale of Centaur to Sahara Hospitality, no written request had been made to the Hotel Corporation of India from Batra Hospitality for transfer of this property as mentioned in the transfer documents.

 

Also, no written request has been made to the Airports Authority of India by the A L Batra group for transfer of lease of this property, the minister added.