Shimla Town Hall cafe: Date to submit bid extended

Shimla, April 24

The Himachal Pradesh Infrastructure Development Board (HPIDB) has extended by two weeks the deadline for submitting bids for opening a high-end café on the ground floor of the historic Town Hall building on The Mall Road. “We received a request from four contenders to extend the deadline. We have accepted their request and the bids will now be opened on May 6,” says Deepak Bhardwaj, an HPIDB official.

BIDS TO BE OPENED ON MAY 6

We received a request from four contenders to extend the deadline. We have accepted the request. The bids will now be opened on May 6. — Deepak Bhardwaj, HP Infrastructure Development Board

As the Municipal Corporation has not been able to find any takers for the heritage property despite repeated attempts, the HPIDB floated the tender this time to find an operator for setting up and operating the café. As per the tender document, the ground floor will house a high-end café with reading facilities, an information centre and a boutique of traditional art and crafts.

Even as efforts are on to lease the ground floor of the Town Hall, where the MC used to hold its monthly House in the past, there’s considerable opposition to the plan in the civic body and outside. Among the most vocal critic of the plan is former Mayor Sanjay Chauhan, who says the Town Hall is a Municipal Corporation’s property. There are many voices in the MC, too, that feel the MC should get back the full control of the Town Hall, as it doesn’t even have a suitable place to conduct its monthly House meeting.