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Hoteliers seek single-window clearance

DHARAMSALA: “We are also investors and the government should think about us,” said hoteliers of Dharamsala at a press conference here today.

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ibune News Service

Dharamsala, August 28

“We are also investors and the government should think about us,” said hoteliers of Dharamsala at a press conference here today.

Ram Swaroop Sharma, founder member of the governing body of Dharamsala Hotel Association, said: “We welcome the fact that the state government is inviting investors from across the world to invest in Himachal. However, we want to bring to the notice of the government that the local investors have already invested crores in the state and are facing various problems,” he said.

While the state government is offering single-window and speedy clearance of various permissions to those who are yet to invest in the state, the investors who have already invested are being given step-motherly treatment. People in Dharamsala have waited for over a year to get the maps approved from the local Municipal Corporation. The hoteliers have to seek permission from at least 16 government departments to run a hotel in Himachal. The state should also give single-window clearance to the local investors, Ram Swaroop Sharma said.

Kuldeep Patiyal, another member of the Hotel Association, Dharamsala, said the government was offering free land to people for setting up hotels in Kangra. However, the people here have bought land and invested crores of rupees to bring up hotels. The hotel industry in Dharamsala has grown naturally due to the presence of the Dalai Lama.

“In case, the government wants to bring investors to the state, they should be asked to invest in creating basic infrastructure as ropeways, roads and parking places. A five-star hotel will not contribute anyway to the economy. Himachal already has huge infrastructure in terms of hotels,” he said.

Sanjeev Gandhi, another founder member of the association, said in the last two years, tourism had gone down in Dharamsala by about 40 per cent. The rules governing the tourism industry in the state were vague and archaic. The government needed to amend the rules taking into consideration the suggestions of stakeholders, he said.

The hoteliers of Dharamsala have been suffering as the Town and Country Planning Department and the Municipal Corporation are not clear as to what policy has to be adopted over deviations in structures of hotels. The hoteliers alleged that while in the Dharamsala Municipal Corporation, only 10 per cent deviation was being allowed, in the Shimla Municipal Corporation area, 20 per cent deviation was allowed.

The hoteliers have also been lobbying with the state government to increase the floor area ratio (FAR) in the state as the present FAR of 1.75 is low and practically unviable for small land holders of the state.

At a time when the state government is planning to hold an international-level investors meet in Dharamsala in November, the anger simmering among the local investors may bring embarrassment to the state government.

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