Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 28 (ANI): The Himachal Pradesh High Court has pulled up the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) for its failure to recover pending dues from various government departments and private entities, despite repeated notices.

The Court has now directed the Managing Director of HPTDC to file a detailed affidavit disclosing the names of defaulting departments and private parties, along with the outstanding amounts, within one week.

The direction was issued by Justice Sandeep Sharma on Friday during the resumed hearing of a petition filed by Jai Krishan Mehta, who is seeking his retiral benefits from HPTDC.

Taking serious note of the Corporation's lapses, the Court observed that despite repeated opportunities, the recovery process remains 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 the 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 Department as well as private entities, who despite there being repeated notices, have failed to pay the outstanding dues, enabling this Court to pass appropriate orders,' the bench stated in its order.

The case will now be heard again on July 9.

Earlier, on November 12, 2024, the Managing Director had informed the Court that as of August 31, 2024, government departments owed HPTDC 1.68 crore, and individuals and private entities owed Rs 47.07 lakh. Recovery efforts had been made until November 7, 2024, but the Court found these efforts inadequate.

The High Court had earlier, in November 2024, ordered the closure of 18 loss-making HPTDC hotels by November 25, terming them as 'white elephants' due to low occupancy rates and continued financial drain on the state exchequer. In the same order, the Court had directed the Corporation to prepare a list of superannuated or deceased Class-IV employees so that dues payable to them or their families could be cleared from the recovered funds.

Additionally, on November 12, 2024, the Court mandated that HPTDC charge 80 per cent advance payments for banquet bookings, especially for private functions like weddings. It had also directed that all dues, particularly those pending from government departments, be recovered by November 30, 2024. The Court warned that failure to comply could invite contempt proceedings against heads of defaulting departments. However, this specific directive was later stayed.

It may be recalled that in April this year, the Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena faced criticism for a controversial Holi celebration hosted on March 14 at Hotel Holiday Home (an HPTDC property). The gathering, attended by nearly 75 people, including over 20 IAS officers, their families, and 22 drivers, led to a bill of Rs 1.22 lakh. HPTDC forwarded the bill to the General Administration Department (GAD) for clearance. The unpaid bill remained pending for weeks and was widely circulated on social media, triggering public backlash. (ANI)