SHILLONG: Alleged red tape and indecisiveness is delaying two hotel projects, Crowborough at Police Bazar and the proposed Marriott five-star hotel, which have been hanging fire for long.
Sources said on Sunday that there is undue delay in completing the projects with officials dealing with the matter citing one reason or another.
When contacted, an official said as far as Crowborough is concerned, it is still at the arbitration stage which has been going on over a year.
The dispute is between Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) and the lessee Leslee Shylla for the failure on the part of the latter to complete the construction of Crowborough hotel in time as per the agreement.
In the past, the government had to incur losses to the tune of several crores of rupees since 1986 as similar arbitrators had asked for payment to the contractors whose deals were cancelled by the government.
The agreement with Shylla was to construct and run the hotel after paying Rs 99.89 crore to MTDC for a period of 33 years, and the lessee paid till date Rs 10 crore though the hotel is yet to be complete.
With the lessee violating the agreement, MTDC decided to go for arbitration to decide on the future course of action.
The arbitration tribunal is led by a retired judge of the Gauhati High Court.
As far as the upcoming Marriott Hotel is concerned, an official said HM Cements, which is executing the project, is facing financial crunch resulting in the delay.
While the urban and municipal affairs department had suggested legal action against the firm for not completing the project in time, the file related to the matter is still with the higher-ups, a source said.
The source added that the government wants the firm to take loan from MMDC to complete the project.
The construction of Marriott Hotel started in 2011-2012 and HM Cements was to complete it within 27 months of getting land. The land was allotted on a lease for 30 years under PPP mode by the Urban Affairs Department in 2010.
According to a source, HM Cements was supposed to pay over Rs 1 crore as rent to the beneficiary, Shillong Municipal Board.
In the context, the Urban Affairs Department had suggested taking legal action against the firm which would help the government to take over the hotel.
However, Chief Minister Mukul Sangma is yet to take a decision in this regard, sources added.