Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation eyes ADB funds for revamp

After getting temporary relief from the high court, the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) is now looking at renovating and refurbishing its hotels to pull them out of red and for funds, the HPTDC is looking towards Asian Development Bank (ADB).
Based on profit and facilities, the hotel will be divided into three categories to prioritize repair and renovation of these hotels, besides taking steps to give a facelift to the hotels in loss.
“We are focused on renovating and reforming these properties using funds from the Asian Development Bank (ADB), as approved by our Board of Directors,” said chairman of HPTDC, RS Bali.
HPTDC that runs 56 hotels in the state and the corporation had been in red owing to numerous challenges owing to mounting liabilities even though the corporation claims turnover of ₹109 crore. Not just the private players but even homestays are emerging as a challenge for the HPTDC hotels.
HPTDC owes ₹35.13 crore to its retired employees as pending arrears, gratuities, dearness allowances and other pension benefits which it had undertaken to clear by June 2025.
“In present day I am not in favour of giving away any of the properties so there is no question of selling or leasing out the properties,” said chairman of HPTDC, RS Bali after Himachal Pradesh high court as a breather to HPTDC had allowed HPTDC hotels to continue operations while staying order to single bench. “The employees union has suggested to lease loss-making units”, he added.
“In the financial years 2022-23 and 2023-24, HPTDC achieved a record turnover of ₹109 crore, the highest in its history. Despite natural calamities, we recorded a turnover of ₹105 crore last year. Between April and October this year, our turnover stood at Rs65 crore compared to ₹63 crore in the same period last year,” he shared.
Under attack from opposition that has accused Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government of trying to sell of the hotels as part of larger conspiracy, Bali said, “we are not in favour of selling properties these are our heritage. We are in favour of running the properties.”
“My main focus is to renovate the hotels. The decision-making body of HPTDC is board of directors and we are not talking of the selling or leasing out of the properties,” said Bali though he is open allowing running of few properties on Operation and Management (ONM) basis. However, he adds, “But will cross the bridge when situation arises.” Under the ONM, properties will be handed over to private players, but their ownership will remain with the government.
Bali reiterated HPTDC’s role in expanding tourism to remote areas, citing infrastructure projects in Keylong, Kaza, Kalpa, Sissu, and Rohru, with ongoing construction in Jispa. “These ventures are not profit-orientated but aim to contribute to the state’s overall development,” he explained.
“All is well with HPTDC, and we remain steadfast in our mission to promote tourism and serve the people of Himachal Pradesh,” he concluded.
HC had called loss-making units as white elephants
Justice Ajay Mohan Goyal on November 19 had directed the HPTDC to close 18 “loss-making” hotels. “Therefore, in order to ensure that public resources are not wasted by the tourism development corporation in the upkeep of these white elephants, it is hereby ordered that the following properties shall be closed forthwith w.e.f. November 25, 2024, as running of these properties is apparently not financially viable,” the court in its order had said.
The court dubbed the hotels a “burden on the state” and took into consideration hotels where occupancy was less than 50%. However, on November 25, the division bench comprising justices Vivek Singh Thakur and Rakesh Kanithla has stayed the single bench’s directive that called for the closure of the hotels by November 25.
In all, the corporation had to recover ₹5.19 crore from various entities — ₹4.13 crore from Himachal Pradesh government departments and ₹1.06 crore from private individuals. HPTDC after high court rap HPTDC recovered ₹3.15 crore.
Even CBI owes ₹21.96 lakh to HPTDC as CBI teams had stayed in HPTDC properties while investigating infamous Gudiya rape and murder case that had rocked Himachal Pradesh in 2017.
As measure to get its outstanding dues cleared, HPTDC has issued directives that 60% of the total charges for banquet booking for marriages and parties should be taken as advance. The HPTDC has also issued directives that besides taking 60% of the banquet charges as advance, 20 per cent of the charges must be taken a week before the proposed function.
But this happened only after HC’s strict directives issued on November 12, that if the outstanding dues of the HPTDC from the government were not cleared by November 30, the heads of departments concerned would be liable of contempt of court.
Committee to pull out HPTDC from red
The state government had constituted a one-member committee of Tarun Shridhar, a retired bureaucrat, to suggest ways to improve the financial health of the HPTDC. Shridhar has visited different properties and took feedback from the employees and other stakeholders to prepare a blueprint for bringing the HPTDC out of the red.