High court division bench allows all HP govt-run hotels to operate

Shimla: In a relief to the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC), a division bench of the Himachal Pradesh high court on Monday stayed its single judge order closing down nine hotels of the corporation with effect from Nov 25.
Taking up a letters patent appeal (LPA) moved by the aggrieved corporation, the division bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Rakesh Kainthla, in its interim order, permitted the HPTDC to continue to operate its nine hotels. The single judge bench of the high court, on Nov 22, had modified its earlier order of closing down 18 loss-making HPTDC hotels from Nov 25 and had allowed only nine hotels to operate till March 31, 2025, but the corporation was also aggrieved by the closure of its remaining nine hotels.
The nine loss-making HPTDC hotels, which the single judge bench had directed to close down from Nov25 and the division bench on Monday allowed to operate include Hotel Geetanjali, Dalhousie; Hotel Hadimba Cottage, Manali; Hotel Baghal, Darlaghat; Hotel Kunal, Dharamshala; Hotel Kashmir House, Dharamshala; Hotel Apple Blossom, Fagu; Hotel Giriganga, Kharapatthar; Hotel Sarvari, Kullu and Hotel Shivalik, Parwanoo.
The HPTDC counsel assured the court on Monday that the corporation would be paying the pending dues of all the retired employees in a phased manner and within 10 days pending dues of all those retired employees who have died will be disbursed to their next-of-kin. The division bench has now posted the hearing of the case to Jan 3, 2025.