The Himachal Pradesh High Court has directed the attachment of Himachal Bhawan in Delhi after the state government defaulted on paying Rs 64 crore in dues to Seli Hydro Company. During the hearing on Monday, the court instructed the Congress-led government of Himachal Pradesh to settle the dues by paying an upfront premium, along with 7 per cent interest.

It asked that the Principal Secretary of Energy investigate the matter within 15 days in order to determine whether officers were involved in the failure to pay dues and to collect the money from the persons. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for December 6. In 2009, the Himachal Pradesh government allocated a 320 MW power project to the Seli Hydro Company for development in the Lahaul and Spiti districts. The Border Roads Organisation was also tasked with assisting in the construction of roads for the project.

As per the agreement, the state government was responsible for providing the necessary basic facilities for the hydro company to commence the project on schedule. However, this support was not provided. In response, the company filed a writ petition in the High Court in 2017. The lawyer representing the company informed the court that, due to the lack of required facilities, the company was forced to halt the project and return it to the government. Soon, the government seized the upfront premium. After considering arguments from both parties, the court directed the government to pay Rs 64 crore as the upfront premium to the company. However, the Himachal government has appealed the court's decision by filing a Letter Patent Appeal (LPA).

Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, the chief minister, told reporters on Tuesday that "the upfront premium is based on a policy under which, when the energy policy was made in 2006, I was the main architect" despite not having noticed the High Court's ruling. "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.

Shehzad Poonawala, the national spokesperson for the BJP, criticised the Himachal administration for imposing the so-called "toilet tax" and for failing to pay staff salaries. 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 said.

The BJP leader was addressing the recent controversy surrounding the missing samosas at an event attended by Chief Minister Sukhu. The incident occurred at the CID headquarters, where boxes of snacks intended for the Chief Minister were reported missing. Rahul Gandhi's "unsound, unsafe, and weird economic ideas have turned out to have a disastrous domino effect on Himachal Pradesh," BJP leader CR Kesavan added, criticising the Congress for the development. "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.