Himachal Breaking: High Court Orders Immediate Closure of 18 Loss-Making HPTDC Hotels from November 25
Shimla, November 19: The Congress government of Himachal Pradesh has received another blow from the High Court. During the hearing of a case, the High Court has ordered the closure of 18 hotels of the state government undertaking Himachal Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC). These hotels are running in loss and for this reason orders have been given to close them. The High Court said that HPTDC should not waste public resources in the maintenance of these white elephants and should close them with immediate effect from November 25. The High Court has made it clear in its order that compliance with these instructions will be the personal responsibility of the Managing Director of the Tourism Corporation.
The High Court said that only the staff required to keep these hotels clean should be kept in them and the rest of the staff should be transferred to other hotels. So that the staff can be compensated where there is a shortage of staff.
Himachal High Court Judge Justice Ajay Mohan Goyal, while hearing a case, said that in order to ensure that the Tourism Corporation does not waste public resources to run these white elephants, orders have been issued to close these 18 hotels with immediate effect i.e. from 25th November. The 18 hotels which have been ordered to be closed are (1) Palace Hotel, Chail (2) Hotel Geetanjali, Dalhousie (3) Hotel Baghal, Darlaghat (4) Hotel Dhauladhar, Dharamshala (5) Hotel Kunal, Dharamshala (6) Hotel Kashmir House, Dharamshala (7) Hotel Apple Blossom, Fagu (8) Hotel Chanderbhaga, Keylong (9) Hotel Deodar, Khajjiar (10) Hotel Giriganga, Kharapathar (11) Hotel Meghdoot, Kayarighat (12) Hotel Shabari, Kullu (13) Hotel Log Huts, Manali (14) Hotel Hadimba Cottage, Manali (15) Hotel Kunjum, Manali (16) Hotel Bhagsu, Mcleodganj (17) Hotel The Castle, Naggar and (18) Hotel Shivalik, Parwanoo.
The High Court has mentioned in its order that the occupancy of the hotels cited by the Tourism Corporation is disappointing. The order also mentions the occupancy of the flagship hotels of the Tourism Corporation. The High Court has said that HPTDC has not been able to use its properties to earn profit. Continuing to operate these properties is naturally a burden on the state treasury and the court can judicially accept that the financial crisis is being talked about by the state every day, which is listed in the court in the cases related to financial matters.
The High Court said that when a detailed order was passed on 17.09.2024 in this matter, it had expected the respondents to take some concrete and effective steps to increase the resources of the Tourism Development Corporation, but till this order, HPTDC has not taken even a small step in this direction.
The High Court has directed that in the next hearing on December 3, 2024, the Managing Director of HPTDC will have to file an affidavit regarding compliance with the order passed by the court today and also provide the list of retired employees who are of Class IV and the list of employees who are no longer in this world, so that the amount related to the dues received from the Tourism Development Corporation can be released in favor of retired employees and the families of the deceased employees. On the next date of hearing, HPTDC will also have to inform the court how much more amount has been received from the dues payable to the corporation by the government and private entities.
Continuing the achievement of the journey of effectiveness and credibility of more than 10 years in the career of journalism, as a woman journalist, I am Serving as the founder, promoter and editor of DiaryTimes with the trust and support of all. My credible coverage may not have given a big shape to the numbers, but my journey presents articles that make you aware of the exact and meaningful situations of Himachal’s politics, ground issues related to the public, business, tourism and the difficult geographical conditions of the state and financial awareness. DiaryTimes, full of the experience of my precise editorial expertise, is awakening the flame of credible journalism among all of you, so that the eternal flame of meaningful change can be lit in the life of the people of the state and the atrocities being committed against the people can be brought to the fore, I am motivated for that. If even a small change comes with the power of my journalism and the whole world becomes a witness to that issues, then I will consider myself fortunate.
