New Delhi: With an aim of making granting of
clearance to hotel projects transparent and investor-friendly,
the Hospitality Development and Promotion Board would opt for
online system for processing applications.
Investors can also track the status of the application
online, as per the decision taken by the HDPB in its first
meeting.
"It has also been decided that information and
communication technology would be used to make the functioning
of the HDPB effective, transparent and investor friendly,"
said a senior Tourism Ministry official.
The newly constituted HDPB, at its first meeting held
here under the chairmanship Of Tourism Secretary R H Khwaja,
has decided that various clearances for hotel projects would
be given based on the statutory provisions of the concerned
agencies.
The status of these applications would be accessible by
the applicants using their username and password to be
provided by HDPB.
However, the Board will review and monitor whether the
time limits stipulated for according such clearances are being
adhered to or not.
Accordingly, a computerized MIS and a separate
dedicated website for HDPB would be developed. Investors would
apply directly to all concerned Ministries for various
clearances and provide details preferably online to the HDPB
Secretariat on a fixed format.
The concerned Ministries / Departments would regularly
update the status of pending applications and the final
decision on this website. The exceptional cases where the
applications have not been disposed off within the time limit
stipulated would be highlighted and reviewed in the periodic
meetings of the Board.
As per a FICCI study in 2007, the current demand-supply
gap of hotel rooms in India is 1,50,000. Estimated shortage of
hotel rooms is 1,00,000 in budget and 50,000 in luxury
category.
PTI
First Published: Wednesday, March 09, 2011, 18:31