Hotels, bars can renew licences once in 5 years

MUMBAI" In a major step to liberate licence raj and arrest red-tape and blackmailing, the state government has proposed a five-year term for renewal of approvals, clearances and licences issued to hotels, bars and restaurants instead of the current yearly renewal system. Also, these licences will be offered through a one-window system to promote the tourism and hospitality industry.
For patrons, this could mean lesser harassment by the authorities at bars and hotels.
A draft tourism policy 2015 has proposed, “All licences and clearances required for lodging, eating and those issued by police, shops & establishments and food and drugs administration can be renewed every five years.”
The government has invited suggestions and objections to the draft policy by Monday (Dec 7). It will approve the policy by incorporating public views after the consent of the cabinet and the state assembly.
The state has also proposed holding wedding functions in forts—along the lines of Rajasthan—by converting some of them into hotels, yacht sailing off all beaches, and total exemption of entertainment tax on movie tickets if 75% of the movie is shot at destinations in the state.
Besides, Mumbai, Thane, Navi Mumbai and Pune, a special status has been sought for Aurangabad, Nagpur, Sindhudurg to promote tourism.
To enhance the quality and number of tourism destinations, the government has announced up to 100% waiver in various taxes to attract an investment of over Rs30,000 crore over the next five years besides concessions in water and electricity tariffs and attractive offers on floor space index besides subsidies and extensions to project periods.
The policy also proposes the public-private participation model for development of tourism hotspots with a projected investment of Rs30,000 crore in the next five years to double the number of tourist destinations.
A 100% tax waiver for major tourism projects in special zones and districts has been declared by the state. Taxes to be waived include VAT, luxury tax, entertainment tax, electricity duty, stamp duty and registration charges, property tax, non-agriculture tax among others.
The draft also proposes special incentives to tourism units run by women and challenged persons by extending their period of lease.
Another major feature of the policy is 50% to 100% floor space index (FSI) over base FSI of 3, 2 and 1.5 for mega tourism projects in special tourism districts and other zones to be declared later.
Tourism secretary Valsa Nair Singh said, “Other proposals include seamless travel and stays proposed by integrating air, rail, road, and water transport with hotel stays and sight-seeing, special police force at destinations to take care of security and monitor cleanliness, and special tourism promotion for heritage sites and buildings in the state, mainly in Mumbai.”
Regional food festivals such as Konkan, Vidarbha, Marathwada, Khandesh and Western Maharashtra and thematic tourism such as nature, tiger, adventure, agriculture, beaches, forts, education exchange, health and spa are also on the agenda. besides youth, literary, holi, dahi handi, Ganpati and other festival tourism throughout the year.