Big statement by Chief Minister Omar Abdullah.
State Bureau, Jammu. I myself am ashamed, I am also a culprit, I held power here continuously for six years, yet could not make the registration rules of hotels and guest houses simple, effective and practical for tourists. These are none other than the words of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah which he said on Thursday while assuring that the new policy and rules related to hotel-guest house registration will be implemented in the state soon.
Emphasizing on the reopening of many tourist places closed after the Pahalgam attack, he said that we are in constant discussion with the Government of India in this regard. This issue will also be raised during the proposed visit of the Home Minister to Jammu and Kashmir.
Today, while answering questions related to tourism asked by various MLAs during Question Hour in the State Assembly, the Chief Minister said that the rules related to registration of hotels, guest houses and other infrastructural facilities related to tourists in our state are now almost 50 years old.
There will be no talk of relief until new rules are implemented
These were built in 1978 and there has been no change since then, but during this period there has been a massive change in the tourism sector. He said that I too remained in government for the first six years, but I also changed them. Looking towards the opposition, he said that you people were also in power, but you also did not pay any attention.
Referring to the alleged delay in issuing registration certificates and no-objection certificates from the fire department and the mandatory renewal of hotel-houseboat licenses every year, he said some relief would be sought until the new rules are implemented.
He said that the only thing we can do is to set a time limit for completing the related formalities and ensure that if the concerned do not give any reply within the stipulated time or do not express consent or disagreement towards the related work, then the permission for the said work is considered valid.
He said that the purpose of reviewing and changing the related rules is to make the related process more transparent and time bound. He said that reforms like self-declaration mechanism and deemed approval can also be considered to avoid unnecessary delays and eliminate scope for any unfair practices. He said the new rules will completely cover the entire tourism ecosystem including hotels, homestays, shikaras, houseboats, taxis and buses.
Talks will be held soon about opening the closed tourist spot.
During this, when the MLAs raised the issue of closure of various tourist places in the valley, Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said that now the tourism season is about to start again. The tourist places which have been closed were closed due to the Pahalgam terrorist attack last year. The situation has now vastly improved and we are continuously communicating, contacting and coordinating with the Government of India to open these tourist places soon.
Referring to the closure of some tourist places after the Pahalgam attack, the Chief Minister said efforts were on to reopen them. He said that the matter is being discussed with the Government of India and assured the House that the issue will be taken up with the Union Home Minister during his upcoming visit to Jammu and Kashmir.
Earlier, while answering the questions of MLAs Salman Sagar, Javed Mirchal, Nizamuddin Butt, Shaktiraj Parihar, Balwant Singh Mankotia, he said that tourism has become a major source of direct and indirect employment for the youth in the state.
Homestay registration process also simplified
The Tourism Department is organizing tourism fairs besides tourism promotional activities to promote tourism throughout the Union Territory. Various employment opportunities are also being created by including event managers, transport operators, digital content creators, hospitality workers, guides, artisans and other service providers.
He said that the tourism department outsources things like cafeteria, huts, parking areas and entry ticketing, which provides more employment opportunities and also generates income for the department. He said that to increase community participation in tourism, homestay registration process has been notified by simplifying it. This will boost tourism in rural and marginal areas of Jammu and Kashmir and will also create new employment opportunities for the local people.
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