BJP failed to maintain HPTDC assets: Cong

Shimla: The Congress govt in the hill state has alleged that Tuesday’s high court judgment of closing 18 Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) hotels was the result of “reckless spending by the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) regime”.
Deputy chief whip Kewal Singh Pathania and Nahan MLA Ajay Solanki on Wednesday slammed the previous BJP govt over its alleged “failure” in maintaining the properties of HPTDC, accusing the saffron party leaders of “blatant misuse of the tourism hotels”.
It was during BJP’s tenure that the corporation's debt mounted, pushing it into loss, they said, adding, the incumbent govt will make sure that skeletal staff, which was necessary for the upkeep of the property, will be retained in the premises of “these 18 closed hotels for upkeep” while the excess staff would be transferred to other tourism hotels in the state.
“During the BJP regime, in 2019-20, the HPTDC suffered a cumulative loss of Rs 4,900.68 lakh, which in the year 2020-21 escalated to Rs 4,996.53 lakh and in 2021-22 it mounted to Rs 5,198 lakh,” the Congress leaders said.
They said due to the efforts of the present govt, the HPTDC was coming out of the losses and was gaining profits despite the “disaster” of the decade the state suffered.
They claimed that as compared to 2023, the revenue of tourism, which includes catering and other income, has increased.
Pathania said the Congress govt has committed itself to making Himachal Pradesh a favourable tourist destination and has announced to make Kangra the tourism capital of the state but it was “unfortunate” the HPTDC hotels in Kangra district were in the list to be closed.
The Congress legislators said with regard to hotels having occupancy below 40%, the profit and loss cannot be judged merely in terms of occupancy.