Court orders attachment of Himachal Bhawan for not paying Rs 64 crore power dues

In 2009, the then government in Himachal Pradesh allotted a 320 MW power project to the Seli Hydro Company to be set up in Lahaul and Spiti district. The Border Roads Organisation was also deployed to help with the road construction required for the project.

In Short

• Probe ordered into officers' involvement in non-payment
• Next court hearing scheduled for December 6
• Then state government allotted power project to company in 2009

The Himachal Pradesh High Court has ordered the attachment of the Himachal Bhawan in Delhi after the state government failed to pay Rs 64 crore in dues to the Seli Hydro Company.

During the hearing on Monday, the court ordered the Congress-led government in the hill state to pay an upfront premium to the company along with a 7 per cent interest.

It asked the Principal Secretary of Energy to conduct a probe within 15 days to find out about the involvement of officers in the non-payment of dues and recover the amount from the person/s.

The court has scheduled the next hearing for December 6.

In 2009, the then government in Himachal Pradesh allotted a 320 MW power project to the Seli Hydro Company to be set up in Lahaul and Spiti district.

The Border Roads Organisation was also deployed to help with the road construction required for the project.

According to the agreement, the state government had to provide basic facilities for the hydro company for it to begin working on the project on time. But this did not happen.

In response, the company filed a writ petition in the High Court in 2017. The lawyer representing the firm told the court that due to lack of facilities to set up the project, the company had to shut down the project and return it to the government.

On this, the government seized the upfront premium.

After hearing from both the parties, the court ordered the government to pay Rs 64 crore upfront premium to the company. However, the Himachal government has filed an LPA against the court's decision.

Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said that although he did not read the High Court order, "the upfront premium is based on a policy under which, when the energy policy was made in 2006, I was the main architect".

"We had kept a reserve price per megawatt on which the companies had bid. There was a decision made by arbitration in the matter of upfront premium. Our government went to the High Court against the arbitration order and the government had to deposit Rs 64 crore in arbitration," he added.

Meanwhile, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala slammed the Himachal government for not being able to pay the salaries of their employees and also for the imposition of the so-called "toilet tax".

Poonawala told news agency ANI that wherever Congress has come to power, it has brought with it "loot and barbaadi (destruction)".

"They (Himachal government) are busy investigating samosas and the situation is such that the Himachal Bhawan is now on the verge of being sold to pay the dues of power companies," he added.

The BJP leader was referring to the recent controversy that erupted over samosas that apparently went missing from an event attended by Chief Minister Sukhu. The event took place at the headquarters of the CID where boxes of snacks meant to be served to the Chief Minister went missing.

Also slamming the Congress for the development, BJP leader CR Kesavan said party MP Rahul Gandhi's "unsound, unsafe and weird economic ideas have turned out to have a disastrous domino effect on Himachal Pradesh".

"As a result, the Himachal government's economy stands wrecked and ruined so much so that they can't even pay electricity dues to power companies... This shows the recklessness and the careless attitude of the Himachal government," he told ANI news agency.

(Inputs by Vikash Sharma)