One more skeleton in the cup board of the Government has come to light. As per the report published in The Economic Times of 10th February (Page 12), it is reported that the spacious Centaur Hotel in Srinagar, owned by the Air India has been leased for long 30 years to DB Realty owned by Shahid Balwa, an accused in the 2 G Scam, for a pittance of Rs. one crore per year. The grand hotel has 251 spacious rooms and has a perfect scenery of Dal lake, which can be seen from each of the rooms. When the deal has been exposed Air India states that it was decided by the Aviation Ministry, when Praful Patel was the Minister. The former Minister has stated that it was the decision of the Air India. present aviation Minister Vayalar Ravi is reported to have stated that ” some problems ” are there.

More news of the lease contract are expected to come. All will be remembering how the Mumbai Centaur Hotel was gifted to a private company for 1/10th of the price.