The Hindu Business Line : Chhattisgarh to announce tax waiver to promote tourism

The Chhattisgarh Minister for Tourism, Mr Brij Mohan Agarwal, flanked by the Assocham President, Mr Anil K. Agarwal (right), and the Bharat Hotels CMD, Mr Lalit Suri, at a tourism conference in the Capital on Monday. - Kamal Narang

New Delhi , Jan. 9

THE Chhattisgarh Government would shortly announce its new tourism policy, giving huge incentives to investors that will include complete waiver of stamp duty on purchase of land and sales tax, besides waiver of State levies, said Mr Brij Mohan Agarwal, Minister of Tourism, Government of Chhattisgarh.

Mr Agarwal was speaking at a conference on `Tourism and aviation: Infrastructure investment opportunities' jointly organised by the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the Chhattisgarh Tourism Board on Monday.

Land banks: He said the State's tourism board would create huge land banks and allocate land to investors proposing to come to Chhattisgarh on concessional rates that attract zero stamp duty. The land banks will come into creation in the next 5-6 months as the State has received proposal from various segments of industries to the tune of Rs 40,000 crore.

"As regards tourism, since the State offers huge investment opportunities, it would create as many as 100 hotels and motels in the next one year, the management of whom will be entirely on private hands and that the State Government will have no interference on their running. The Central Government has given the State a grant of Rs 30 crore out of the Rs 100-crore investment for promoting tourism in Chhattisgarh,'' Mr Agarwal said.

Air links: Ms Zhang Lan, Director-Commercial, Air China, in her observations, announced that India and China would resume no stoppage air linkages between Beijing and Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai. The proposal to this effect is under consideration between the two Governments that will be cleared latest by August.