Side effects of delay in cabinet expansion: HPMC project may be in trouble; Plan to open 85 outlets on Delhi Metro to sell juice-jam-squash

Due to the delay in the formation of cabinet in Himachal, the project of selling products at the Delhi Metro station of HPMC, a government undertaking, may be in trouble. Actually, HPMC is waiting for approval from the state government to open 85 outlets at Delhi Metro station.

However, due to the decision taken by the Sukhwinder Sukhu government to review the decisions taken in the last 9 months, the project could not get the green signal. At the same time, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) has sought the reply of Letter of Award (LOA) before 31 December. The date of December 31 was also fixed on the request of the HPMC, as the reason behind this was the model code of conduct in the state.

Then the HPMC was expecting that the project would be approved by the government after the election code of conduct is removed in the state, but the government’s approval has not been received due to the non-constitution of the cabinet till now. Keep in mind that this approval has to be done either at the level of Chairman of HPMC or in BOD. The chairman of the HPMC is the Horticulture Minister and the formation of the BOD is possible only after cabinet expansion.

DMRC has given permission for 85 outlets
Government undertaking HPMC had sought permission to open its outlets at 100 locations in Delhi Metro. Out of these, DMRC has also issued LOA at 85 locations. After this HPMC invited tenders twice, but both the times only one company came forward.

Therefore, due to single firm, HPMC does not want to take the risk of giving tender at its own level and only then permission has been sought from the government. Letter of Acceptance will be issued in lieu of LOA of DMRC only after getting the approval of the government.

This product will be available at Delhi Metro station
Government undertaking HPMC produces products like juice, jam, squash, apple cider vinegar etc. At present these products are being manufactured at the processing plants of Parwanoo and Jarol. From the next season, a big processing plant will also start in Parala.

Government undertaking is now preparing 1000 metric tonnes of concentrate
At present HPMC is producing 1000 to 1100 MT of juice concentrate every year. After the commissioning of the Parala plant, it is expected to produce 1700 to 1800 metric tonnes of juice. This is an important source of income for HPMC.

Outlets will start through private agency
HPMC is going ahead with the plan to open its counters on Delhi Metro through a private agency. The agency has been selected. Now the green signal of the state government is yet to be received.

Agency will give 5% royalty to HPMC
HPMC is expecting a good income from the opening of the outlet. The contracted agency will pay the rent for these outlets. According to the agreement, the agency will pay 5% royalty to HPMC, while HPMC will provide the products like juice, jam, squash etc. to the agency at retail price, which means HPMC will earn royalty as well as money from selling the product.