- विज्ञापन -
The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) will have room bookings at its hotels handled by a private company, which will provide the corporation with millions of rupees in advance. The proposal to delegate the booking task to a private company was approved in a meeting of the corporation’s board of directors, chaired by Chairman Raghubir Singh Bali.
After the meeting, Bali stated that for the first time in the state’s history, the decision has been made to outsource room bookings to a private online company to compete with private hotel groups. The corporation will receive millions in advance, which will be used for the renovation of the hotels. The annual expenditure on the purchase of essential goods for the hotels and restaurants is around 30 crores. By negotiating with companies through a Central Buying Unit, a saving of about 5 crores will be achieved annually. The operation of the corporation’s restaurants, which are currently running at a loss, will also be handed over to private hands, but ownership will remain with the tourism corporation. The board has decided to completely revamp four hotels in Kullu and Manali. An ice skating rink will also be built at the Manali Club House. In addition to the board members, Managing Director Dr. Rajiv Kumar and General Manager Anil Taneja were present.
R.S. Bali mentioned that the employees of the tourism corporation are like family members. In the interest of the employees, the gratuity has been increased from 10 lakhs to 20 lakhs. The pension has been raised from 3500 to 9000. Furthermore, the ex-gratia grant given in case of an employee’s death has been increased from 75,000 to 1.50 lakhs.
After seeking permission from the Chief Minister, I requested retired senior IAS officer Tarun Shridhar to provide suggestions for the benefit of the corporation. Project consultants can cost millions, but Shridhar will offer suggestions to improve the financial condition of the tourism corporation without any charge. His experience will certainly benefit the corporation.
The board has decided to recruit technical staff on an outsourced basis. This will not only increase employment opportunities but also improve the quality of hotel services. Technical staff, including food controllers, F&B managers, and housekeeping managers, as well as chefs, will be recruited in the kitchen.
