Himachal HC allows 18 hotels that were ordered shut to function till March

Earlier, proceeding a petition regarding unpaid fiscal benefits to retired HPTDC employees, a single-judge seat of Justice Ajay Mohan Goel connected November 19 had ordered to unopen down 18 hotels, adding that nationalist resources should not wasted successful the upkeep of “these achromatic elephants”.

On November 22, however, the seat of Justice Goel modified the bid and permitted the state’s tourism section to proceed operating till March 2025 9 of the 18 properties till March 31, 2025.

The authorities had challenged the azygous bench’s bid submitting that HPTDC has received beforehand payments for bookings for respective hotels that person been ordered to beryllium closed. It besides contended that fiscal earning of the 18 properties demonstrates that immoderate of these units having edifice rooms are besides providing different facilities of edifice and banquet hallway and of precocious person started earning from the same.

While filed an exertion praying for a callback oregon modification of the November 19 order, the HPTDC had besides submitted that it “stands chastened” and shall beryllium making “all retired endeavours to propulsion the corp retired of red” too ensuring that the dues of the retired employees are paid successful time. It had besides said that the corp is taking superior steps to guarantee that its properties are enactment to maximum utilisation and they go profit-earning ventures alternatively than achromatic elephants.

Advocate Shilpa Goel, who appeared for the HPTDC successful the precocious tribunal said, “The part seat accepted our plea wherein we submitted that radical person already booked rooms successful galore these hotels. The corp besides assured the precocious tribunal of making sincere efforts to wide the pending dues of its retired employees. The part seat stayed the November 19 bid and allowed the HPTDC to tally each the 18 properties till March 31 adjacent year,” Advocate Goel told The Indian Express.

The properties that were ordered to beryllium unopen down but volition present stay unfastened see the Palace Hotel (Chail), Hotel Geetanjali (Dalhousie), Hotel Baghal (Darlaghat); Hotel Dhauladhar, Hotel Kunal Dharamshala and Hotel Kashmir House (Dharamshala); Hotel Apple Blossom (Fagu), Hotel Chandrabhaga (Keylong), Hotel Devdar (Khajiar), Hotel Giriganga (Kharapatthar), Hotel Meghdoot (Kiarighat), Hotel Sarvan (Kullu); Hotel Log Huts, Hotel Hadimba Cottage and Hotel Kunzum (Manali); Hotel Lihagsa (Mcleodganj), The Castle (Naggar) and Hotel Shivalik (Parwanoo).