Cabinet meeting at 3 pm

Bengaluru: After years of uncertainty, the State Cabinet is finally poised to decide on transferring the management of Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel in Mysuru to a private hotel firm. The decision is expected to be made during the Cabinet meeting scheduled for 3 pm today.

Currently, the hotel is managed by State-owned Jungle Lodges and Resorts, a unit of Karnataka State Tourism Development Corporation (KSTDC).

According to the agenda for the Cabinet meeting, the issue is listed as the 29th topic. The agenda reads: “To select a hotel operator through a transparent tender process to manage and operate Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel, replacing Jungle Lodges and Resorts.”

The tabling of the hotel privatisation proposal for Cabinet approval comes two years after a similar plan was presented in June 2022. At that time, a Cabinet Sub-Committee decided to issue global tenders inviting hotel conglomerates with expertise in managing heritage properties, rather than favouring a single hotel chain.

A proposal to hand over management to the Taj Group, which had voluntarily offered to manage the hotel, was also discussed. However, the Cabinet Sub-Committee chose not to favour any particular luxury hotel brand, including Taj.

Instead, the Committee opted for a global tender process, allowing various luxury hotel brands to submit bids. The highest bidder, who agreed to the Government’s conditions and committed to preserving the heritage status of Lalitha Mahal, would have been awarded control of the property                                   for a set period.

However, this decision was never implemented on the ground and the change in political leadership led to a delay in moving forward with the plan.