Srinagar: Chief Secretary Arun Kumar Mehta on Wednesday chaired a meeting to review the policy and guidelines for registration, renewal and operation of houseboats in Dal and Nigeen Lakes, besides discussing legal framework for enforcing the policy.
The meeting was attended by Principal Secretary, General Administration Department, Manoj Kumar Dwivedi; Secretary Tourism, Sarmad Hafeez; Vice-Chairperson, J&K Lakes Conservation and Management Authority, and Director Tourism, Kashmir.
Principal Secretary, Housing and Urban Development Department, Dheeraj Gupta participated virtually.
While emphasising on coordination among various line departments, the Chief Secretary directed for constitution of a committee at senior level for registration, renewal and operation of house boats in Dal and Nigeen Lakes.
The committee shall be responsible for inspection of the houseboats to ensure compliance to all laid down norms and procedures including structural safety, fire hazard, sewage and waste disposal. It will also be mandated with scrutinising all documents of the houseboat for registrations/renewal of the registration.
The committee will also ensure that fire safety guidelines are being followed by the houseboat owner besides functional Sewage Treatment system for solid and liquid waste is in place.
The Chief Secretary also directed the officers to introduce rating system of houseboats based on facilities and quality of service for the convenience of tourists. He said that under the rating system, officers shall inspect and classify the houseboats and monthly rating should be published.
It is pertinent to mention that the Tourism Department had notified the Policy/Guidelines on Dal lake for registration, renewal and operation of house boats in Dal and Nigeen Lakes with an objective to regulate the functioning of houseboats. Also, the policy ensure preservation of ecology of the lakes besides conserving the ecosystem for future generations by adopting sustainable Tourism.
The policy elaborates different aspects of concerned matters of the Dal and Nigeen lakes and elucidates the documental requirement for registration and renewal of House Boats in these lakes.

Inspection Committee
The committee shall be responsible for inspection of houseboats to ensure compliance with structural safety, fire hazard, sewage and waste disposal.
It will also scrutinise all documents of houseboats for registration/renewal of registration.
The committee will ensure that fire safety guidelines are being followed and a functional Sewage Treatment system for solid and liquid waste is in place.

Reader correspondent