Shimla, April 30 (PTI) No department will be shifted from Shimla to Dharamshala; however, relocation of offices of boards and corporations is under consideration, Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Wednesday.

Talking to reporters here after presiding over a meeting of the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC) and the Tourism Department, he said that increasing the retirement age of government employees is also under consideration and the matter would be discussed in the cabinet.

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"No department would be shifted from Shimla to Dharamshala as the state Secretariat is in Shimla. However, shifting of offices of boards and Corporations is under consideration," said Sukhu.

According to HPTDC chairman RS Bali, the board of directors of the HPTDC has already decided to shift the headquarters from Shimla to Dharamshala.

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The CM also said hotels of Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development Corporation (HPTDC), like in Parwanoo, which are closed, could be outsourced. He also instructed the tourism department to provide food vans to the local people and commence hop-on, hop-off luxury bus rides on local tourism routes in the state.

The Himachal Pradesh government is investing Rs 2,415 crore to develop better infrastructure, wayside amenities, and promote other adventure sports activities to attract tourists in the state, he said in a statement issued here.

Sukhu also instructed the officers for the swift operationalisation of the heliports to improve air connectivity to various hill stations of the state and reviewed expansion projects of Kangra, Shimla and Bhuntar airports to provide better air connectivity to tourists, boosting tourism in the state.

He claimed that the HPTDC achieved an annual turnover of Rs 107 crore under the present state government as compared to Rs 78 crore during the previous BJP government regime despite facing the challenges posed by natural disasters in the state.

The chief minister said that due to the profits earned by the HPTDC, the corporation has been able to clear Rs 41 crore benefits for the pensioners during the last two-and-half years, whereas the previous BJP government disbursed only Rs 26 crore during its five years.

He directed the officers to further improve service across the HPTDC properties and explore the possibilities of leasing out vacant properties of HPTDC on operation and maintenance basis to private players.

The chief minister also asked the department to complete the construction work of Shivdham in the Mandi district at the earliest and beautification work in the Renuka lake area in Sirmaur to make these more attractive to the tourists.

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