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Don’t stall homestay renewal for want of fire NOC, Himachal CM directs officials
Directs tourism officials to issue provisional renewal registration to homestays, launches a dedicated homestay registration portal — http://homestay.hp.gov.in — to simplify the process for applicants
Renewal of registration of homestays must not be stalled for want of fire no-objection certificates (NOC), chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said on Monday. He instructed the tourism department to grant provisional registrations to such establishments, ensuring that business operations and maintenance can proceed without “harassment or unnecessary obstruction”.
The CM also launched a dedicated homestay registration portal — http://homestay.hp.gov.in — designed to simplify the administrative process for applicants.
Highlighting the vast potential of the state’s tourism landscape, Sukhu noted that the homestay scheme is a cornerstone of the government’s strategy to foster self-employment. The initiative aims to promote rural tourism and draw visitors to the state’s untouched, lesser-known destinations. To maximise these opportunities, the government has expanded the scheme’s scope to include urban areas allowing for the registration of home stays with a capacity of up to six rooms.
The CM underscored that homestays offer a unique value proposition, providing tourists with an authentic “homely” experience through traditional village architecture and local cuisine. He remarked that serving traditional dishes not only enriches the tourist experience particularly for foreign visitors but also significantly boosts the income of local homeowners.
He also highlighted the introduction of an interest subsidy scheme designed to assist people in setting up expanding or upgrading tourism units. Under this initiative, the state provides interest subsidies of 3% in urban areas, 4% in rural areas and 5% in tribal regions on term loans.
‘Prepare roadmap for 31% more forest cover in 4 years’
Chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu has directed the forest department to prepare a comprehensive roadmap to increase forest cover in Himachal Pradesh to 31% by 2030. Presiding over a review meeting of the forest department on Monday, he said the present forest cover in the state stands at 29.5% and needs to be enhanced in a planned and sustainable manner.
The CM said that global warming has emerged as a major challenge worldwide and its adverse effects were clearly visible. He said that about 16,376 square km of area in Himachal was snow-covered, barren or mountainous, where plantation was not feasible. “Therefore, the forest department should identify potential areas in each district suitable for plantation and prepare a phased plantation plan accordingly,” said Sukhu, while emphasizing the plantation of native species, fruit-bearing plants and plants with medicinal value.
Sukhu called for protection of existing forests as well with active participation of local people. He said that the state government has launched the Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana to promote community participation in forest plantation and conservation. Under the scheme, plantation was carried out over 924.9 hectares during the previous year. He added that under the scheme, the state government was providing financial assistance of ₹2.40 lakh for plantation over two hectares to these groups, along with annual incentives linked to survival rates of plantations. The scheme has received an encouraging response from the targeted groups.
The CM further stated that a target has been set to undertake plantation over 5,000 hectares in the next financial year under the Rajiv Gandhi Van Samvardhan Yojana. Of this, 3,376 hectares have already been identified.
