Himachal Pradesh government offers to lease 14 HPTDC properties

Out of 56 properties, the Himachal Pradesh Government has announced to offer 14 crucial properties of the HP Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC), including Palace Hotel in Chail and Golf Glade at Naldehra, to private players on lease. The offer was officially announced on the website for the Rising Himachal Global Investors Meet, scheduled to be held at Dharamshala on November 7-8.  The decision came as a surprise to many, as some of the hotels at Chail, Naldehra and Manali happen to be the pride of HPTDC. While, most of these properties are making losses, the decision of offering it to private players are not finding many takers as these have the potential to be developed into prime hotels. Instead of offering the not-so-important units, prime properties with an immense scope for expansion are proposed to be leased out, raising further questions on the disinvestment plans. However, it has been found that the conditions for leasing out HPTDC units have been tailor-made to suit some private players. But, there is no final decision on leasing out these HPTDC properties, which have been in loss for many years.