HC stays closure of nine Himachal Pradesh Tourism Corporation hotels

Shimla: The Himachal Pradesh High Court has stayed a single-judge order to close nine hotels of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) due to low occupancy.

The interim order was passed on Monday by a division bench comprising Justices Vivek Singh Thakur and Rakesh Kaithala after hearing the appeal of the Corporation challenging the order of the single bench.

The next hearing has been fixed on January 3.

On November 19, a single-judge bench of Justice Ajay Mohan Goel had ordered closure of 18 HPTDC hotels by November 25 after taking note of poor occupancy. However, on November 22, the court permitted the state's tourism department to run nine out of 18 properties till March 31, 2025.

The HPTDC had filed an application praying for a recall or modification of the November 19 order and said the Corporation is taking serious steps to ensure that its properties are put to maximum utilisation.

The counsel for the HPTDC had submitted that some of the properties ordered to be closed have certain obligations in the mode of room and event bookings and advances have been received from the parties.