Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 28: The Himachal Pradesh High Court has taken the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) to task for failing to recover outstanding dues from various government departments and private entities, despite multiple notices.
Justice Sandeep Sharma, presiding over the matter on Friday, directed the Managing Director of HPTDC to submit a detailed affidavit within one week. The affidavit must list the names of defaulting government departments and private parties along with the pending amounts owed to the Corporation.
The order came during a resumed hearing of a petition filed by Jai Krishan Mehta, who is seeking his retirement benefits from HPTDC. Expressing dissatisfaction with the Corporation’s repeated failures, the Court remarked that recovery efforts to date remain incomplete and unsatisfactory.
“Managing Director, HPTDC, file an affidavit within a period of one week, detailing therein how much amount is yet to be recovered from various Departments of the Government and how many private entities have not paid the amount. While doing so, Managing Director, HPTDC, may also disclose the names of the Departments as well as private entities, who despite repeated notices, have failed to pay the outstanding dues,” the Court’s order read.
The next hearing in the matter is scheduled for July 9.
Previously, on November 12, 2024, the Managing Director had informed the Court that as of August 31, 2024, government departments owed HPTDC ₹1.68 crore, while individuals and private parties owed ₹47.07 lakh. However, the Court found recovery efforts inadequate.
In November 2024, the High Court had also ordered the closure of 18 loss-making HPTDC hotels by November 25, terming them “white elephants” draining the state’s finances. Additionally, the Court had instructed HPTDC to prepare a list of retired or deceased Class-IV employees so their dues or those of their families could be cleared from recovered funds.
The Court had also mandated that HPTDC collect 80% advance payments for banquet bookings for private functions, including weddings, and had ordered recovery of pending government dues by November 30, 2024. Although the Court warned of contempt proceedings for non-compliance, this directive was later stayed.
A recent controversy highlighting financial mismanagement involved a Holi celebration on March 14 at Hotel Holiday Home, attended by senior bureaucrats and their families. The event resulted in a bill of ₹1.22 lakh, which HPTDC forwarded to the General Administration Department (GAD). The unpaid bill, widely circulated on social media, sparked public criticism.