Days after it had ordered the closure of 18 Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) hotels describing them as “white elephants”, the Himachal Pradesh High Court on Friday allowed nine of them to remain operational until March 31 next year.
A single-judge bench of Justice Ajay Mohan Goel modified his earlier order after the HPTDC filed an application.
The nine hotels permitted to remain open are The Palace Hotel (Chail), Hotel Devdar (Khajjiar), The Castle (Naggar), Hotel Meghdoot (Kiarighat), Hotel Chandrabhaga (Keylong), Hotel Log Huts (Manali), Hotel Kunzum (Manali), Hotel Bhagsu (Mcleodganj) and Hotel Dhauladhar (Dharamshala).
“On November 19, the high court had ordered the closing of 18 hotels out of 56 run by HPTDC on the basis of less occupancy. We informed the high court that occupancy is not the sole aspect to see if a hotel is making a profit or loss. We presented figures that besides the occupancy, income is being generated through other means, including organising private functions, government functions etc in these hotels, advocate Shilpa Goel, HPTDC counsel, told The Indian Express.
On November 19, Justice Goel had described the 18 hotels as “white elephants” and directed their immediate closure, effective November 25, as part of a hearing on a petition regarding unpaid financial benefits to retired HPTDC employees.
With the court directing the tourism corporation that they be closed by November 25, the fate of the remaining nine hotels, which include Hotel Geetanjali (Dalhousie), Hotel Baghal (Darlaghat), Hotel Kunal (Dharamshala), Hotel Kashmir House (Dharamshala), Hotel Apple Blossom (Fagu), Hotel Giriganga (Kharapathar), Hotel Sarvari (Kullu), and Hotel Shivalik (Parwanoo), will be decided on November 24.
Meanwhile, the decision to close the 18 hotels coupled with the attachment of Himachal Bhawan in Delhi has put the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led government on the defensive. The Opposition BJP has strongly criticised the state government, accusing it of failing to protect Himachal Pradesh’s interests and heritage.