Jai Ram Thakur Demands Rollback of Hotel Fee Hike, Accuses Sukhu Government of Burdening Businesses

Mandi, November 2: Former Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister and Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur has strongly criticised the Sukhu-led Congress government over the steep increase in consent fees for hotels by the Himachal Pradesh State Pollution Control Board, calling it a government focused on imposing excessive taxes and fees.

Opposing the revised fee structure, Thakur said the increase would place an additional financial burden on small and medium-sized hotel operators and make running tourism businesses more expensive. He demanded an immediate review and withdrawal of the revised charges.

Under the new structure, green-category hotels with 10–13 rooms will have to pay ₹1.80 lakh for five years, compared to the earlier ₹72,000. The annual fee has also been increased from ₹14,400 to ₹36,000. Meanwhile, orange-category hotels with more than 20 rooms could face five-year charges ranging from ₹3 lakh to ₹5 lakh.

Thakur alleged that the government was increasing charges across various sectors, including tourism, education, healthcare and revenue-related services, instead of addressing its financial challenges through expenditure control. He termed the revised hotel fee structure unfair, arguing that small tourism establishments should not be compared with large industrial units.

He also alleged that hotel operators were receiving closure notices over pending payments under the revised fee structure. Warning against what he described as excessive financial pressure on businesses, he said the BJP would oppose such decisions at every level.

Jai Ram Thakur Calls INDIA Alliance Rally a Failure

Taking a dig at the INDIA alliance rally held at Ramlila Maidan in Delhi against the Election Commission, Thakur termed the event unsuccessful. He criticised Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu for travelling to Delhi with ministers and party workers but allegedly not being given an opportunity to address the gathering.

He further alleged that the Congress leadership had failed to give due importance to the Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister.

Calls on BJP Workers to Join Mandi March on November 4

Earlier, Thakur attended a joint meeting of the Sanoi and Kandhidhar booths under Gram Kendra Shankar Dehra in his Seraj Assembly constituency. Discussions focused on strengthening the party organisation, boosting booth-level activities and outlining future strategies.

He also appealed to party workers to participate in the November 4 march in Mandi titled ‘Remove Anarchy, Save Democracy’.