Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed the amended Tourism Development and Registration Act.
Two Vidhan Sabhas, Himachal Pradesh, winter session (Photo:SNS)
Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly on Thursday unanimously passed the amended Tourism Development and Registration Act.
Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu who also holds the portfolio of Home and Finance had introduced the Bill in the Assembly on Wednesday.
With the passing of the Bill, there will be a crackdown on homestays and other tourism units running illegally without registration in the state.
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After the notification of the amended Act, homestays or other tourism units running under the Central and state government schemes will have to apply for re-registration within 30 days.
The applying entities will not have to pay the fee till the expiry of their existing registration license.
However, after the expiry of the license period, the registration fee fixed by the government will have to be paid. Tourism units must complete all registration documents and other formalities within 90 days.
The government had enacted the Tourism Development and Registration Act in the year 2002 which had a provision of six month’s imprisonment and a fine of Rs 10,000 for homestay operators running without registration.
However, the government has now abolished the imprisonment provision. The amount of the fine has been increased from Rs 10,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
After the amendment in the law, homestays have been included in the establishment list of the Tourism Development Corporation.
Now, the registered homestay license will be considered valid for two years.
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