13 of 23 Himachal PSUs in red, loss up by Rs 593 cr

Bhanu P Lohumi

Shimla, March 6

The pandemic has hit the Himachal public sector undertakings (PSUs) hard, which together incurred Rs 593 crore loss in 2020-21. The cumulative loss increased from Rs 3,754.44 crore on March 31, 2020 to Rs 4,348.19 crore on March 31, 2021.

At least 13 of the 23 PSUs are in the red. The HP State Tourism Development Corporation suffered immensely due to repeated lockdowns. Its cumulative loss increased from Rs 50.17 crore in 2019-20 to Rs 93.31 crore in 2020-21, as there was a drastic dip in the tourist footfall and hotels remained shut for most part of the year.

The loss of HP State Electricity Board (HPSEB) increased from Rs 1,520.59 crore to Rs 1,705.91 crore during the same period as commercial and industrial consumption decreased significantly. The loss of Himachal Road Transport Corporation stood at Rs 1,573.93 crore in 2020-21 against Rs 1,533.70 crore the previous year.

Similarly, Himachal Pradesh Power Corporation posted a cumulative loss of Rs 552.07 crore, followed by Himachal Pradesh Power Transmission Corporation (Rs 240.43 crore), HP Financial Corporation (Rs 173.81 crore), Himachal Pradesh Forest Corporation (Rs 108.57 crore), HPMC (Rs 86.75 crore), Himachal Pradesh Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation (Rs 29.28 crore), HP State Co-operative Milk Producers Federation (Rs 16.10 crore), Himachal Agro Industries Corporation (Rs 13.39 crore) and HP State Handicrafts and Handloom Corporation (Rs 12.63 crore).

The significant profit earning PSUs included HP State Industrial Development Corporation, which registered cumulative profit of Rs 82.31 crore, followed by HP Ex-Servicemen Corporation (Rs 65.98 crore), HP General Industries Corporation (Rs 40.45 crore) and HP State Civil Supplies Corporation (Rs 37.59 crore).