Question Hour: HPTDC owned hotels running into losses, reveals Himachal CM Sukhu

Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC)’s commercial properties are running into losses, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Tuesday while replying to question from Dharamshala MLA Sudhir Sharma.

The CM said HPTDC had 30 commercial units, including hotels, restaurants, cafes and inns across the state, of which two, including Hotel Sadhupul at Chail and Café Shivalik in Parwanoo, were closed during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The cumulative losses incurred by these units have crossed ₹4.33 crore mark.

The top three loss-making units are the Hotel Transport wing ( ₹48.36 lakh), Shivalik Parwanoo ( ₹44.07 lakhs) and Meghdoot, Kiarighat ( ₹40.82 crore). The CM said the government was also considering taking a policy decision to lease out the units which were running into losses.

HPTDC has leased out only one commercial property Hotel Angler Bungalow, Katrain, in Kullu in the last three years. The hotel was leased out on April 8, 2021, and up to January 31, 2023, the HPTDC had earned ₹3,54,822 as lease rent.

₹1,311.20 cr ADB fund for tourism

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved ₹1,311.20 crore for tourism infrastructure development in Himachal Pradesh, which includes an ice-skating-cum-roller-skating rink at Manali which is to be built at a cost of ₹35 crore and a wellness centre with a projected cost of ₹50 crore, the CM.

In a reply to the question from Manali MLA Bhuvneshwar Gaur, the CM said the state government has sanctioned ₹3.95 crore for construction of eco-tourism parking at Kothi, near Vashishth and Hadimba Devi Temple in Manali, through the tourism development council (TDC), Manali.

Besides, funds to the tune of ₹24.92 crore have been sanctioned for the construction and improvement of parking at HRTC/Volvo bus stand near Aloo Ground through the tourism development council.

An amount of ₹7.36 crore has been released for the development of wayside amenities & parking at South Portal of Atal Tunnel, Rohtang.

Immersive Group Reality Tour Bus Service’ is an ambitious project for tourists visiting Atal Tunnel, Rohtang, for which ₹7.50 crore has been released to the HP State Electronics Development Corporation.

The bus has been procured and its customisation is in progress.

Apart from it, an amount of ₹90.61 lakh has been sanctioned by the state government for the upgrade of log huts in Manali. The CM said wayside amenities were also being created at Solang Nallah while a heliport is being constructed near Aloo Ground Manali.

In a written reply to a question raised by Dehra MLA Hoshyar Singh, industry minister Harshwardhan Chauhan informed that a total of 37 Patwar Circles wholly or partly in 6 tehsils have been declared as potential industrial zones in industrial corridors in Kangra. Notifications to this effect were issued by the state government on June 1, 2016; October 31, 2018, July 20, 2019, and August 17, 2022.

An amount of ₹34.40 crore has been spent in the declared potential industrial zones in industrial corridors through different executing agencies HP public works department, HP state electricity board Ltd (HPSEBL) and Jal Shakti Vibhag for the development of road infrastructure, power and water supply in these areas, state the minister in the reply.

In a reply tabled in the response of question asked by Nalagarh legislator KL Thakur, the industry minister said that 65% population of the Nalagarh Assembly constituency falls in the jurisdiction of Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh Development Authority (BBNDA), however, the area of the constituency in BBNDA is less than 65%.

He said as per the 2011 census, the total population of the Nalagarh Assembly constituency was 1, 26,678 of which 87,577 (69.14%) is under BBNDA. Out of 42,287.64 hectares in Nalagarh, 25,621 hectares are under BBNDA.

The state-level executive committee of BBNDA had approved 96 development works for the Nalagarh area for which an amount of ₹18.98 was sanctioned in the last three years 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23.

Of the sanctioned amount, funds amounting to ₹8.97 crore have been released and ₹10 crore is yet to be released.

In response to a question by Congress member Indradutt Lakhanpal, deputy chief minister Mukesh Agnihotri said that Tanda Medical College is a registered institute for cadaver organ retrieval surgery since March 2021 and so far, two patients have been operated on here. He said this surgery related to organ transplant is possible only when the transplantable organ is available.