Shimla: In a big blow to the state government on ‘unpaid dues’, the Himachal Pradesh High Court has ordered attachment of the Himachal Bhawan, a premier property of the state government at Mandi House in New Delhi.
A landmark state guesthouse located at 27 Sikandra Road will be on ‘sale’ (auction) to clear the dues of Seli Hydro Electric Power Company, which was allotted a power project in the state in 2009 on the basis of competitive global bidding.
The order was passed on Monday by Justice Ajay Mohan Goel, who also directed the principal secretary (Power) and state’s power departments to conduct an inquiry to identify which specific officer(s) were responsible for failing to deposit the arbitration award amount of Rs 64 crore along with seven per cent interest in the court. The total liability has risen almost to Rs 150 crore.
As per arbitration award, the Himachal government was supposed to return Rs 64 crore paid by the company as upfront premium after it was allotted the 320 MW hydel project in Lahaul-Spiti, a high altitude tribal district in 2009. The project is located in Chenab River, called Chander-Bhaga in Himachal.
After dispute over delays in the execution of the project, the state government had revoked the Letter of Allotment (LoA) issued to the company and ordered the upfront premium to be forfeited.
The company contested the decision on legal grounds and filed a case in the court. The matter was later referred to the arbitrator.
Noting failure of the state government to return the dues, the court ordered the attachment of the property to recover the dues after its auction. The court also directed that the interest amount payable to the company may be realised from the officials personally, who are responsible for the non-payment of the money to the power company.
The matter has now been listed for December 6.
Meanwhile, Leader of Opposition Jairam Thakur has lashed out at the state government, saying it was bent on destroying Himachal Pradesh.
“If the situation has reached to a stage when Himachal Pradesh will be put on auction to clear the dues of a power company, tomorrow the state secretariat will be facing similar attachment
orders,” he feared.