Himachal Assembly unanimously amends the Homestay Act

 Himachal  Pradesh Assembly unanimously amended the homestay act in the house on Thursday without any discussion. The new provisions proposed a hike in the penalty and waived off the penal provision of imprisonment for setting up homestays and other hospitality unit in the rural areas of the state.

The landmark legislation was enacted by Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal’s government in the state in 2002 to regulate and encourage the hospitality unit in the rural areas and to decongest the crowded tourist centres towards the less congested areas of the state. The legislation provided a landmark as thousands of homestay units came up in the villages and outskirts attracting the number of tourists in the state.   

 Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu who also holds the portfolio of home and finance presented the Himachal Pradesh Tourism Development and Registration Amendment Act  2002 for the discussion which was passed without any discussion in the house by the voice vote by the members of both sides. The amendment proposed to register more new hospitality units under the home stays scheme and renew of registration of tourism units after two years. 

The state government proposed decriminalisation of the offences under the act to encourage and instil confidence among persons engaged in the tourism trade. The new legislation proposed the amendment in sections 3, 25, 46,48,49,51, 59 and 64. In clause one of the HPTD&R Act, the term timeshare units would be replaced by homestays. The Ropeways, Convention centres and Wellness centres are to be regulated in the legislation.

All those tourism units which are running under state and centre schemes would have to apply for registration within thirty days of the commencement of this Act. Under sec 46 and 48 of the new legislation the lump sum penal provisions imposed on one lakh in place of ten thousand and six-month imprisonment for the violation of act. Similarly, the fine does not exceed Rs ten thousand now in place of five thousand.

The hospitality units would have to pay more fines for willfully obstructing the officers while discharging their duty. The ten thousand penalty would be imposed in place of imprisonment of three months and a five thousand fine.

The renewal of the registration is made compulsory after the two years of registration and applicants have to pay the renewal fee.