Five days after the Himachal Pradesh High Court ordered the attachment of Himachal Bhawan located in Delhi for the recovery of Rs 150 crore owed by the state government to Seli Hydropower Electrical Company following an arbitration ruling in favour of the power firm, the state government Saturday sanctioned Rs 64 crore, which will be deposited in the court registry next week, to stop the attachment of the premier building in the national capital. The government has also decided to challenge in the High Court the 7 per cent interest on Rs 64 crore since 2017. “The government has sanctioned Rs 64 crore, which will be deposited in the High Court registry next week. We will challenge in the court the 7 per cent interest following the due legal process,” Advocate General, Himachal Pradesh, Anup Kumar Rattan, told The Indian Express. The case pertains to the 340 MW Seli Hydropower Electric Project on the Chenab River in Lahaul and Spiti district. The state government awarded the project to Seli Hydro Electric Power Company Limited/Moser Baer and issued the Letter of Allotment (LOA) on February 28 2009, following which the firm deposited the upfront premium of Rs 64 crore. However, the project did not materialise. The state government cancelled the LOA and ordered forfeiture of the upfront premium. The company challenged the decision before an arbitrator which ruled in its favour and asked the government to deposit the upfront premium with interest. After the government did not comply with the order, the company filed a petition before the High Court under Article 226. The court upheld the decision of the arbitrator on January 13 2023, and directed the government to deposit the upfront premium with interest with the Registry. Due to the delay in payment, the amount has increased to Rs 150 crore. The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for December 6.
