Himachal PSUs register losses of over Rs.3,000 crore

Eleven public sector undertakings (PSUs) in Himachal Pradesh continued to be a drain on the funds-starved government with their cumulative losses standing at Rs.3,021.04 crore till March 31, 2014, Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh said on Thursday.

The written reply filed in the ongoing budget session said 11 out of the 22 PSUs were in the red.

The Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board, the state's largest undertaking with over 25,000 employees, tops the list of loss-making PSUs with a cumulative loss of Rs.1,813.23 crore.

The Himachal Pradesh Road Transport Corporation, with a fleet of over 2,000 buses, has recorded cumulative losses of Rs.847.66 crore.

Surprisingly, the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corp, which claimed that the annual tourist arrivals in the state were over 1.6 crore last year, has cumulative losses of Rs.23.34 crore.

The Himachal Pradesh Horticultural Produce Marketing and Processing Corp (HPMC), which mainly markets apple juice concentrate, has incurred losses of Rs.70.42 crore, while the state forest corporation and state Handloom and Handicraft Corporation suffered losses of Rs.48.65 crore and Rs.17.55 crore respectively.

During his budget speech on March 18, the chief minister said out of every Rs.100 rupees spent, salaries will account for Rs.29.23, pensions for Rs.14.26, interest payments for Rs.10.41, loan repayments for Rs.5.30 and the remaining Rs.40.80 will be spent on developmental works.

The assembly on March 31 passed the general budget for 2015-16 and the related appropriation bill, authorising the government to spend Rs.30,185.77 crore from the consolidated fund.