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The Congress government in Himachal Pradesh is battling massive debt and to help it clear its unpaid dues, the Himachal Pradesh High Court today ordered the shutting down of 18 state-owned loss-making hotels, which the judges said were "white elephants". The court had also ordered the attachment of Himachal Bhavan, the state guest house in New Delhi, earlier this week.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has said they will challenge the decision in the Supreme Court. But there is no update on how the state plans to manage to pay back its debts and manage its expenses.
State Advocate General Anup Kumar Rattan called the order "routine", but said it became news since the court mentioned the possibility of auctioning the property.
"This order of the High Court has come in an execution petition in which Seli Hydropower has filed," he said, pointing out that the upfront premium of Rs 64 crore has not been deposited in the appellate court by the government.
"Therefore, this order has been given by the Executing Court in a normal routine process. But this is becoming news because the High Court has said about auctioning Himachal Bhawan and that this property can also be attached," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.
State Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi said that if the hotels are not doing financially well, steps can be worked out to address the issue. "The HPTDC hotels were built at a time when the government wanted to encourage tourism... These are properties located at prime locations. If any of these properties are not doing well financially, then we should work on it," Mr Negi was quoted as saying by ANI.
On the attachment of the Himachal Bhavan property in Delhi, he said the issue dates back to the BJP regime of 2009 when hydroelectric power-related matters "were assigned to them".
The court's decision came after the government cited its financial constraints while explaining why its employees are not receiving financial benefits. In connection to this, information on the business done by 56 state-owned hotels was placed before the judge.
The court said that it is necessary to shut down the hotels to ensure that public resources are not wasted in the maintenance of these "white elephants" by the Tourism Development Corporation. Citing that the state government talks of its financial crisis repeatedly, the judge said the Tourism Development Corporation has not been able to use its properties to earn profit.
The hotels shut down today include The Palace Hotel Chail, Hotel Geetanjali Dalhousie, Hotel Baghal Dadlaghat, Hotel Dhauladhar Dharamshala, Hotel Kunal Dharamshala, Hotel Kashmir House Dharamshala, Hotel Apple Blossom Fagu, Hotel Chandrabhaga Keylong, Hotel Deodar Khajjiar, Hotel Giriganga Kharapathar, Hotel Meghdoot Kyarighat, Hotel Sarvari Kullu, Hotel Log Huts Manali, Hotel Hadimba Cottage Manali, Hotel Kunjum Manali, Hotel Bhagsu McLeodganj, Hotel The Castle Naggar Kullu and Hotel Shivalik Parwanoo. Judge Ajay Mohan Goyal held the Managing Director of Tourism Development Corporation personally responsible for ensuring compliance with the order.