UP refuses to transfer Hotel Alaknanda to Uttarakhand

Neena Sharma

tribune news service

Dehradun, August 21

The possibility of Uttar Pradesh government handing over the Hotel Alaknanda located in Haridwar to Uttarakhand seems bleak.

Meenakshi Sundaram, Secretary, Department of Tourism, said, “The meeting with the Uttar Pradesh officials on Thursday did not yield any result in our favour. They have conveyed to us their inability to hand over the property. Now, we will have to seek legal remedy as the case is already pending in the Supreme Court.”

Savin Bansal, Additional Secretary, Tourism, had gone to Lucknow to attend the meeting on the asset transfer between Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh, where he was conveyed the UP government’s decision.

Hopes of final settlement to the 16-year long dispute on asset transfer had gained ground after Adityanath Yogi, who hails from Uttarakhand, was elected Chief Minister of UP.

Chief Minister TS Rawat had visited the Chief Minister in Lucknow where the discussions were held. After the meeting, CM Rawat had conveyed that the discussions were fruitful and it was decided that the issue of transfer of properties between the two states would be resolved amicably.

However, a discordant note was set, when a minister in the Yogi Cabinet claimed that Uttar Pradesh will not part with the properties under its control. The transfer of properties between the two states is pending since the creation of the state in 2000.

Significantly, the prime property in Haridwar is a good source of income for Uttar Pradesh and so far all the governments have resisted its transfer.