Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has given its nod for undertaking a special audit of nearly a century-old luxurious Wildflower Hall Hotel, a joint venture of the Oberoi Group and Himachal Pradesh government, located 13 km from Shimla.

The hotel run by Mashobra Resorts Ltd—a subsidiary of East India Hotels of the Oberoi Group—is caught in a protracted legal battle between its principal owners the Himachal Pradesh government and the Oberoi Group ,which was chosen by earlier Congress government to rebuild the hotel into a five-star resort and run it on professional lines.

“The CAG has decided to undertake a special audit of the Wildflower Hall. We have received the communication in this regard and will soon be taking up the audit work,” state’s Principal Accountant General Rita Mitra said. In May, Himachal Pradesh had sent a written request to the CAG asking for a special audit of the hotel’s accounts, after the company planned to covert Rs 100 crore debt into equity, which eventually would reduce the state government’s equity in the joint venture below 7.5 per cent, which is the current stake that the state holds in the venture.

Indian Express