Court allows 9 of 18 HPTDC hotels to operate till March

Shimla: In partial modification of its Nov 19 orders, the Himachal Pradesh high court on Friday allowed nine out of the total 18 loss-making hotels of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) to continue their operations until March 31 next year.While considering HPTDC’s application for modification of the earlier order, the bench headed by Justice Ajay Mohan Goel also clarified that the continuation of the Nov 19 order pertaining to these nine HPTDC hotels would be reviewed after March 31 next year based on their performance. Justice Goel had earlier directed the HPTDC to shut 18 hotels with less than 40% occupancy in the last few years, including The Palace Hotel in Chail, from Nov 25.On Friday, the HPTDC urged the court to allow at least nine of these hotels to continue operations, arguing that these hotels also earn from other means, including restaurants, banquet halls, and entry tickets, despite their low occupancy rates.Convinced by the HPTDC’s arguments, Justice Goel allowed nine hotels to function until March 31 next year to analyse their performance. These HPTDC properties include The Palace Hotel, Chail; Hotel Log Huts, Manali; Hotel Kunzum, Manali; Hotel The Castle, Naggar; Hotel Bhagsu, McLeodganj; Hotel Chandrabhaga, Keylong; Hotel Devdar, Khajjiar; Hotel Meghdoot, Kiarighat; and Hotel Dhauladhar, Dharamshala.The HPTDC also informed the court that some of these hotels, which were ordered to close from Nov 25, have upcoming obligations such as room bookings and event bookings, with advances already received from parties. “Learned senior counsel submitted that as the corporation indeed stands chastened by the order passed by the court, it is and shall be making all-out efforts to pull the corporation out of the red. Besides ensuring that dues of its retired employees are paid on time, it shall also endeavour to prevent such situations in the future,” reads the court order. The court was also assured that the corporation was taking serious steps to ensure these hotels didn’t become “white elephants”.

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