Panel to look into financial health of ailing HPTDC

Even as the move to rope in private players for enhancing the profit of the hotels of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) is underway, the state government has constituted a committee to look into its financial health and suggest remedial measures.

Tarun Shridhar, a former bureaucrat who retired as Secretary in the Government of India, has been entrusted with the task of looking into the ailing heath of the loss making HPTDC. He has been asked to review and examine the financial position of the HPTDC and suggest remedial measures required to streamline its functioning. The basic motive is to take steps which can help the HPTDC to come out of the red.

The one-member committee has been asked to submit its recommendations to the Himachal government within six months timer. The Managing Director of the HPTDC shall function as the secretary to the committee.

The move comes close on the heels of the High Court orders, directing the state government not to make any recruitment in the HPTDC without the permission of the court. The court has imposed this restriction on the HPTDC as it has failed to foot the pending arrears of its retired employees. The court, in its order, had gone to the extent of stating that in case no steps are taken to check the mismanagement, there will be no other option left than to put locks on the HPTDC properties.

In a bid to enhance revenue from its profit making hotels and get the loss making ones out of red, the HPTDC is keen to rope in private layers to run these properties on operate and management basis (ONM). Raghubir Bali, Chairman of the HPTDC, has already said that even though the properties will be run on the ONM basis the ownership of the properties will remain with the government and the HPTDC employees will continue work on the same terms and conditions.

Presently, 35 of the 55 hotels and restaurants being run by the state government owned HPTDC are incurring loss. In the past, successive governments, both Congress and BJP, even leased out some of the loss-making properties but presently all 55 are being run by the HPTDC. Now the Congress regime has made up its mind to rope in private players into the hospitality sector to offer high-end services, which will help bring the loss making units into profit.

The HPTDC is among the 12 loss-making public sector undertaking of the state government having a strength of almost 1800 employees.

Court order on recruitment

• High Court had directed the state government not to make any recruitment in the HPTDC without the permission of the court. The court has imposed this restriction on the HPTDC as it has failed to foot the pending arrears of its retired employees.
• The court, in its order, had stated that in case no steps are taken to check the mismanagement, there will be no other option left than to put locks on the HPTDC properties.
• The HPTDC is amongst the 12 loss-making public sector undertaking of the state government with a strength of almost 1800 employees.