Court orders attachment of Himachal Bhawan in Delhi owing to payment failure

PTC News Desk: Himachal High Court has ordered attachment of Himachal Bhawan at Sikandra road in New Delhi as the state failed to pay Rs 64 crore as upfront premium to Seli Hydro company. 

Justice Ajay Mohan Goel passed an order directing Congress-led government to pay an upfront premium to the company along with a 7 per cent interest. The court has asked  the Principal Secretary of Energy to carry out the investigation within 15 days to find out about the involvement of officers in the non-payment of the dues and recover the payment from the concerned persons.

The next hearing in the matter has been scheduled for December 6.

The case dates back to  February 28, 2009, when the state government had allotted a 320 MW power project to the Seli Hydro Company to be set up in Lahaul and Spiti district. The work for construction of the road to the project site had been allotted to the Border Road Organisation. According to the agreement, it was state government's responsibility to provide required infrastructure for setting up the project.

In 2017, the company approached the High Court with a petition requesting the return of the Rs 64 crore upfront payment, citing the government's failure to provide the necessary infrastructure. The government, however, forfeited the upfront premium and filed a special leave petition challenging the High Court's decision. In September 2017, the state government terminated the letter of agreement, claiming that the company had not signed the implementation agreement despite being granted an extension.

In a video message, former CM Jai Ram Thakur said it is very unfortunate that a situation has come where court had to order attachment of Himachal Bhawan, identity of the state in Delhi. “It is the failure of the government when 70 lawyers have been appointed as Advocate General (AG), Additional AG and Deputy AG, who have failed to defend the government,” he said.