EIH Ltd, which operates Oberoi hotels and resorts in India and abroad, has offered an olive branch to the Himachal Pradesh government to end the two-decade long feud over Wildflower Hall, Shimla.

The overture to settle the dispute comes months ahead of the deadline set by the Supreme Court to hand back the possession of the luxury property to the Himachal government by March 31, 2025.

Wildflower Hall, which used to be the summer residence of Lord Kitchener, the commander-in-chief of the Indian armed forces, was rebuilt by the Oberoi group in partnership with the HP government at the turn of the last century.

The property is owned by Mashobra Resort Ltd (MRL), a joint venture with the government, where EIH holds a 78.79 per cent stake, according to the latest annual report of the company.

The approach to resolve the dispute arose during a hearing before the high court, a note to the second quarter results published by EIH, revealed. “…in a hearing before the Hon’ble High Court, the company and MRL indicated their intention to settle the entire matter with the government of Himachal Pradesh and the management has assessed that no further provision is considered necessary,” the note said.

The plot where the hotel is situated is a freehold land conveyed by the HP government in favour of MRL on February 6, 1997 towards its equity contribution to the company, which was set up specifically to develop and manage the property.

Following disputes over the joint venture agreement, the state terminated the JVA on March 7, 2002, ensuing arbitration and a series of litigations, which finally culminated with the SC order on February 20 this year, which upheld an earlier order of Himachal Pradesh HC.

EIH did not elaborate on the nature of the settlement saying the “matter is subjudice”.

The company had reported net assets in MRL of ₹321.75 crore as ‘assets classified as held for sale’ in its latest annual report.

Strong show

EIH reported a 41 per cent jump in profit after tax at ₹132.7 crore on a consolidated basis in the second quarter compared with ₹94.14 crore a year ago, while revenue went up by 13 per cent to ₹622.58 crore from ₹552.49 crore.

In line with the growth strategy of the company, the EIH informed that it has a pipeline of 20 properties to be completed by 2029, comprising 17 hotels, two luxury boats, and a Nile Cruiser. This expansion includes nine hotels which EIH will own, invest in and operate directly or through joint ventures.

The rest of the properties, including the two luxury boats and the Nile cruiser, will be managed by the Oberoi group.

The pipeline spans 11 hotels in India and nine international hotels in destinations such as London, Egypt, Bhutan, Nepal, and Saudi Arabia.

Upon completion, 16 hotels (including two boats and a Nile Cruiser) will operate under the Oberoi brand and four hotels under the Trident brand comprising a total inventory of approximately 1,350 keys.