Chandigarh: Then & Now III

ChandigarhPost delves into the past to find out issues that made news.
Juxtapose these unsolved matters to the present and you can see how much the city has changed or remained the same.

This report appeared on November 5, 2001 in The Times of India. Now we know for sure, but at that time a five-star hotel in the city seemed more like a dream. Interesting read.

THEN (November 5, 2001)

Is the city ready for a five star property? While this question still remains to be answered, the India Tourism Development Corporation’s (ITDC) decision to pull out of the half done five-star project has seriously dented the administration plans of having such a property. Are there enough takers for the services offered by a five-star hotel? What are the impediments? For one, pricing of land. “Land prices have been jacked up artificially by the administration and that leads to the project becoming commercially unviable,” said a businessman who had bid for the five-star plot auctioned by the government in sector 34 in the recent past.

Ponty Chadha, based in Delhi, was ready to pay a whopping Rs 36 crore for the property, but after depositing Rs 9.42 crore as guarantee money he decided to pull out of the project. Reason? He was allegedly not allowed to construct the facade of the building as per his design and permission was not granted for the sixth floor. “Chandigarh is not an investor-friendly city for property developers. The administration just wants to stick to the concrete monstrosities of Le corbusier,” said a bureaucrat on conditions of anonymity. “A building constructed with an investment of Rs 80 crore to Rs 100 crore ought to have its own character. a five-star cannot be made to look like the Markfed building,” he said.

Chandigarh is the centre of three governments and has a high per capita income of Rs 29,661 with a growth rate of 7.02 per cent. But does it merit a five-star hotel? “the city is mainly a transit point, it has not been marketed well and is not a tourist attraction,” says Beant singh, resident director, PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Statistics bear this out. A CITCO report put the city’s share of foreign tourist arrivals still stuck in the thousands range. The average duration of stay per visitor is 1.6 days. “The city ought to have its USP. It can become a major convention centre for exhibitions and trade shows if promoted well. we feel that a five-star is very much viable as the city picks up on the corporate front,” said Chandrajit Banerjee, regional director, Confederation of Indian Industry.

Anshuman Magazine, Managing Director, cb richard ellis, a global consultancy major, joins issues with Banerjee. “The project will be viable in the long run and has to be conceived with a longer duration in mind. The demand at present is not high, but with the economy picking up and industries coming to Mohali and Chandigarh, it will be viable,” he said.

A top executive of a prominent organization suggested an alternative: “A five-star hotel can only be viable if relaxations are made. there is no point in creating excess capacities. the local administration should instead work on existing properties and privatise hotel Mountview which can be upgraded to a five star.” as of now, Chandigarh is not likely to have a five-star on its skyline, but with business growing and a right sense prevailing in the administration, the landmark may become a reality in the coming years.

NOW (November 5, 2007)

The Taj Chandigarh was launched in February, 2005 and has been a runaway success from day one. The Punjabi zest for good living has kept the cash counters ringing. Plus, the spurt in economic activity has lead to tremendous increase in business visits. Whereas, earlier a company executive would prefer to return to New Delhi by the evening Shatabdi, now the majority of them would rather enjoy the opulence of The Taj (that is if their company considers them worthy of five-star treatment). The Taj Chandigarh is now one of the most profitable hotels in the region. The hotel has been designed by Singapore architect, Tom Catelo.