Biz blues hit Himachal tourism dept, has no money to pay salaries to employees
SHIMLA: The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC), which has suffered losses of ₹36 crore due to the Covid-19 pandemic, has no money for employee salaries or benefits for retired workers.
The Jai Ram Thakur-led government had sanctioned a relief amount of ₹20 crore to support HPTDC, but because of “bureaucratic bungling”, only ₹11.60 lakh was released.
The situation is so grave that even though the middle of September is approaching, Class-III and Class-IV employees of HPTDC are yet to get their salaries. Many of them say they have been paid only up to July.
The corporation’s coffers emptied out after all hotels closed as tourists stayed away from the state due to the Covid-19 outbreak and subsequent lockdown.
The government’s decision to convert some HPTDC hotels into institutional quarantine centres, however, helped generate ₹5 crore.
But losses continue to mount as the corporation has to spend ₹5.30 lakh on salaries and allowances every month.
The government also has to pay ₹8 crore to HPTDC for losses it suffered due to Himachal Bhawan and Sadan remaining closed in Delhi and Chandigarh, respectively.
Congress MLA Sukhvindra Singh Sukhu has also asked that the employees be paid immediately.
Bleak future for 60,000 taxi operators
Over 40,000 taxi operators in the state are on the verge of losing their livelihood while 20,000 are without any work.
Many operators have sold their vehicles to repay bank loans for the taxis. Many of them have also demanded waiving of road taxes for a year if there is no business.
“I had three taxis. I sold two to pay my monthly installment. Over 20,000 operators are jobless,” says Narendra Thakur, general secretary, Devbhoomi Taxi Operators’ Union.