Bill seeking mandatory registration of tourism units in Himachal tabled in assembly

The registration of tourism units will have to be done within 90 days after fulfilling all the formalities; the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development and Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2023, also seeks to amend nine sections of the original 2002 legislation.

Unregistered home stays will be liable to pay ₹1 lakh fine said the government and introduced a bill in the House to amend the Tourism Development and Registration Act.

Himachal Pradesh chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu addresses the Winter Session of the State Legislative Assembly, at Vidhansabha in Tapovan in Dharamshala on Wednesday. (ANI)

The Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development and Registration (Amendment) Bill, 2023, also seeks to amend nine sections of the original 2002 legislation.

To amend the law, chief minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu introduced the bill in the House on Wednesday. After the passing of the bill, there will be a crackdown on homestays and other tourism units running without registration in the state.

After the amendment bill is notified, homestays or other tourism units running under the schemes of the central and state governments 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 licence. After the expiry of the licence period, the registration fee fixed by the government will have to be paid. Tourism units will have to complete all registration documents and other formalities within 90 days.

The government enacted the Act in 2002 under which, there was a provision of six months imprisonment as well as a fine of ₹10,000 for homestay operators running without registration. However, the government has proposed to abolish the six-month sentence in the amendment bill. Besides, there is a provision to increase the amount of fine from ₹10,000 to ₹1 lakh. After the amendment in the law, homestay will be included in the list of establishment of tourism development corporation. Apart from this, after the amendment the registered homestay licence will be considered valid for two years.

Due to the proliferation of tourism units, the tourism department is facing challenges of regulations and registration, the chief minister said.