Srinagar: The government on Thursday formed District Level Committee(s) headed by Deputy Commissioner concerned for identification of land including forest one for establishment of 5 star Hotels in Jammu & Kashmir.
“Sanction is hereby accorded to the constitution of District Level Committee(s)….for identification of land for establishment of 5 star Hotels in the Union territory of Jammu & Kashmir,” reads government order.
Besides Deputy Commissioner concerned as Chairperson, the members of the committee include Director Tourism concerned, DFO concerned, Chief Town Planner concerned, Chief Executive Officer concerned and General Manager, District Industries Centre.
It has been tasked to “to identify suitable land for the establishment of 5 star hotels. This may include state land, forest land, private land etc having the potential and feasibility considering factors such as accessibility and other basic infrastructure required for the project.”
The committee has been asked to submit the proposal through Divisional Commissioner, Jammu/Kashmir to Tourism Department on a given proforma.
Meanwhile reports said more than 1.25 million tourists have already come in the Valley to date.
Officials of the local tourism department said that going by the present trend, the year 2024 is likely to break all previous records.
At present, all local hotels in Srinagar city, in the ski resort of Gulmarg and the hill stations of Pahalgam and Sonamarg are completely sold out till the middle of June.
Normally the tourist arrivals start coming down with the beginning of the annual Amarnath Yatra due to the heavy rush of pilgrims who come for ‘Darshan’ at the cave shrine situated 3888 metres above sea level in Kashmir Himalayas.
This year, Amarnath Yatra starts on June 29 and will conclude after 52 days on August 19.
Hoteliers believe that given the number of bookings being made presently, it is unlikely that the tourist arrivals would be affected by the ensuing Amarnath Yatra.
One of the reasons for the unlikely fall in the number of tourist arrivals this year in Kashmir is the soaring temperature in the rest of the country.
At present, tourists are mainly coming to the Valley from Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal and Maharashtra. Local tour and travel operators say the tourist flow from Delhi and Punjab will start in the middle of the next month.
Govt forms panels to identify land including ‘forest’ for setting up 5-star hotels in J&K
