Himachal HC orders closure of 18 HPTDC loss making prime hotels
ECONOMY & POLICY

Himachal HC orders closure of 18 HPTDC loss making prime hotels

Observing that the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation(HPTDC) has failed to come up with any convincing and practical measures to augment its resources despite repeated court orders, the Himachal Pradesh high court ordered closure of 18 loss making prime hotels of the corporation, including The Palace Hotel in Chail, from November 25 across the state. During the resumed hearing of a petition highlighting non-release of the retiral benefits to pensioners by the HPTDC on Tuesday, Justice Ajay Mohan Goel observed, “In fact, when this court firstly took up the issue and passed a detailed order on 17.09.2024, it expected the respondents to come up with something cogent and concrete, so as to augment the resources of the Tourism Development Corporation, but…..not even a small pebble has been moved/turned by the Tourism Development Corporation in said direction.” Justice Goel, therefore, directed closure of these 18 hotels in order to ensure that public resources are not wasted by the corporation in the upkeep of these “white elephants” as running of these properties is apparently not financially viable. The court further ordered that the managing director of the HPTDC shall be personally responsible to ensure the enforcement of this order. It has been directed that the skeletal staff which is necessary for the upkeep of these 18 hotels be retained in the premises and the corporation shall be at liberty to transfer its remaining employees so that its need in other places are duly met. In its scathing order, the high court also directed the corporation’s managing director to furnish a list of those superannuated employees who belong to Class-IV category and those employees who are no more in the world, so that amount that has been generated from the dues by the corporation can be ordered to be released in their favour. The court also directed that the corporation shall also apprise the court that how much more amount has been received from the dues which are payable by the government and private entities to the corporation.

Observing that the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation(HPTDC) has failed to come up with any convincing and practical measures to augment its resources despite repeated court orders, the Himachal Pradesh high court ordered closure of 18 loss making prime hotels of the corporation, including The Palace Hotel in Chail, from November 25 across the state. During the resumed hearing of a petition highlighting non-release of the retiral benefits to pensioners by the HPTDC on Tuesday, Justice Ajay Mohan Goel observed, “In fact, when this court firstly took up the issue and passed a detailed order on 17.09.2024, it expected the respondents to come up with something cogent and concrete, so as to augment the resources of the Tourism Development Corporation, but…..not even a small pebble has been moved/turned by the Tourism Development Corporation in said direction.” Justice Goel, therefore, directed closure of these 18 hotels in order to ensure that public resources are not wasted by the corporation in the upkeep of these “white elephants” as running of these properties is apparently not financially viable. The court further ordered that the managing director of the HPTDC shall be personally responsible to ensure the enforcement of this order. It has been directed that the skeletal staff which is necessary for the upkeep of these 18 hotels be retained in the premises and the corporation shall be at liberty to transfer its remaining employees so that its need in other places are duly met. In its scathing order, the high court also directed the corporation’s managing director to furnish a list of those superannuated employees who belong to Class-IV category and those employees who are no more in the world, so that amount that has been generated from the dues by the corporation can be ordered to be released in their favour. The court also directed that the corporation shall also apprise the court that how much more amount has been received from the dues which are payable by the government and private entities to the corporation.

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

VECV Sales Rise 7.8 Per Cent In May 2026

VE Commercial Vehicles recorded sales of 7,978 units in May 2026, compared to 7,401 units in May 2025, registering growth of 7.8 per cent. This included 7,789 units from the Eicher brand and 189 units from the Volvo brand.Eicher branded trucks and buses reported sales of 7,789 units during the month, up 7.3 per cent from 7,258 units a year earlier. In the domestic commercial vehicle market, Eicher sales rose 9.1 per cent to 7,375 units from 6,758 units in May 2025.Exports declined 17.2 per cent to 414 units from 500 units in the corresponding month last year. Volvo Trucks and Volvo Buses recor..

Next Story
Infrastructure Urban

Table Space Strengthens DESYN Leadership Team

Table Space has announced strategic leadership appointments within DESYN, its integrated Design and Build business, as it looks to strengthen operations across key enterprise and GCC markets in India. DESYN was launched as a strategic extension of Table Space’s workspace solutions portfolio to meet rising demand for agile, high-quality and rapidly deployable enterprise workspaces.Shruti Ookabhoy has joined DESYN as Executive Director and will lead the Design vertical, focusing on design capability, operational excellence and team development across markets. She brings over 22 years of experi..

Next Story
Infrastructure Transport

Concord Associate Bags Rs 2.79 Bn Kavach Order

Concord Control Systems said its associate company, Progota India, has received a Rs 2.79 bn domestic order from Indian Railways for the supply, installation, testing and commissioning of on-board Kavach 4.0 loco equipment.The order is scheduled for execution within 12 months and strengthens Concord’s role in India’s railway safety and signalling ecosystem. Kavach is India’s indigenous automatic train protection system, designed to improve operational safety by helping prevent signal passing at danger and reducing collision risks.Gaurav Lath, Joint Managing Director, Concord Control Syst..

Advertisement

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Get daily newsletters around different themes from Construction world.

STAY CONNECTED

Advertisement

Advertisement

Advertisement