Uttarakhand

• 11 Aug 2022

Uttarakhand to Implement New Tourism Policy

Why in News?

• On August 10, 2022, Uttarakhand Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said that the government would soon implement a new policy to promote investment in the tourism sector in the state. For this, a draft of a new tourism policy is being prepared by the department.

Key Points

• Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj said that soon the policy will be finalized and placed in the cabinet for approval after passing it from the Tourism Development Council. In this policy, the government will give more investment incentives to the investors than MSMEs. This will also give a boost to winter tourism activities in the state in the coming times.
• In the new policy, on the lines of tourism policy of Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh, there will be a provision to give more incentive to the investors in Uttarakhand. Through which investment will be encouraged by the government in infrastructure development for five star hotels, restaurants, adventure tourism.
• So far, on the lines of MSME industries, the government is giving investment incentives of one to 1.5 crores to tourism industries, whereas investors are showing less interest in Uttarakhand due to more incentives to tourism industries in other states due to which the government is going to attract investors by increasing the incentive amount in the new policy.
• In the new tourism policy, the investment incentive amount can be increased from 1.5 crore to two crore. Apart from this, provision will be made for increasing inter subsidy from 15 to 30 percent, exemption in SGST for up to five years, additional grant money for construction of buildings based on local architecture.
• Women entrepreneurs in the tourism sector can get separate incentives. Incentives will be given to those investing in adventure tourism like bungee jumping, paragliding, camping etc.
• Provision will be made to provide additional relief to investors for sewerage system, solar energy in hotel business.
• The state government has received 1116 investment proposals in the tourism sector, with an investment of about Rs 5122 crore. This is likely to provide employment to more than 19 thousand people.
• The government believes that with the formation of the new policy, investment in the tourism sector in the state will accelerate. This will provide employment opportunities to the local people. Along with this, the revenue of the government from the service sector will also increase.
• It is noteworthy that tourism policy was implemented in Uttarakhand in 2019 by giving industry status to tourism. In which incentives were also arranged for tourism industries under MSME, Mega Industrial Policy.
• On the lines of manufacturing industry, tourism industries will get 10 percent or maximum 1.5 crore rupees in hilly areas, 10 percent or maximum one crore rupees in plain areas, one rupee per unit in electricity bills. Reimbursement and exemption of electricity duty for five years is given.

Government to Re-create Workers' Board in Uttarakhand

Why in News?

• On August 10, 2022, Uttarakhand Labor Secretary R. Meenakshi Sundaram informed that the state government is preparing to re-constitute the Uttarakhand Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.

Key Points

• The Labor Secretary said that due to the dissolution of the Workers' Board, new welfare schemes are not being started for the workers. Since, the decision on these is taken by the board itself, so the government is preparing for the formation of the board again.
• At present, the workers are getting the benefits of old schemes in the board, but no new scheme is being made for their welfare. After the formation of the board again, about 4.5 lakh workers will start getting new gifts.
• It is worth mentioning that in the year 2017, Labor Minister Dr. Harak Singh Rawat was looking after the responsibility of the chairman of the board. On the instructions of the then Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, in October 2020, the government removed Harak Singh Rawat from the post of chairman and formed a new board under the chairmanship of Shamsher Singh Satyal.
• Satyal was removed by the current Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, re-dissolving the board on September 30, 2021. Since then the Board is being operated with the Labor Secretary as the ex-officio Chairman.