After a long gap of fifteen years, Madhya Pradesh government announced and approved a new tourism policy. It is aimed at promoting more investment from private sector and procuring more land for them than promoting tourism.
The new policy has relaxed luxury tax limit from Rs 500 to Rs 2000 and zero tax during off season. Further heritage hotels will be exempted from tax for a period of 10 years provide the promoted invests minimum Rs one crore in the hotel.
Further it is an overhauled version of the previous policy and has “deleted” those provisions which were proposed in the 1995 Policy. “We have deleted word ‘Casino’ proposed by previous Congress government in the new tourism policy,” said a government spokeskperson.
“The new policy proposes Special Tourism Zone and creating land bank for the private investors. The policy also includes ‘Water tourism policy’ to promote tourism at various reservoirs of power projects like Indira Sagar, Omkareshwar and Bansagar dams. The back water at these reservoirs has created small islands and we can promote tourism in these areas,” the government spokesperson added..
The new hotels at Bhopal and Indore will be exempted from taxes for a period of five years and eight years in other areas. The mandatory provision of creating minimum 10 years for tax exemptions for new hotel has also been abolished. “An existing hotel will be exempted from taxes in certain conditions provided the hotelier invests minimum Rs 50 lakh. The new hotels will also be exempted from electricity duty if they set up captive power plant,” the spokesperson added.
