U’khand govt to help revamp Garhwal corp guesthouses

The Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam (GMVN), which is facing acute fund crunch, will get funds from the state government to renovate its guesthouses and infrastructure at popular tourist spots. The mover can help generate revenue and pull the cash-strapped corporation out of its present situation, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat said on Thursday.

After the 2013 flash floods, the GMVN, an extension of Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, has been finding it difficult to pay the salaries of its employees.

The government will carry out the exercise in a phased manner. In the first phase, the GMVN will be given Rs 3 crore to improve 21 of its guesthouses and resorts, which can be an important source of revenue generation for the corporation, Rawat said, while reviewing the condition of GMVN.

Rawat added: “The timely and regular maintenance of guesthouses can make GMVN profits. For repairing resorts and guesthouses, Rs 2 crore will soon be released. Online marketing of guesthouses <g data-gr-id="34">help</g> reach out to more customers across the country and abroad.” 

Rawat said this in a high-profile meeting in Dehradun. State Tourism Minister Dinesh Dhanai, Chief Secretary Rakesh Sharma, Tourism Secretary Umakant Panwar, C Ravishankar, MD of GMVN, and Vishal Dobhal, vice-<g data-gr-id="31">chariman</g> of GMVN, among other senior officials, attended the meeting.  

The CM said the corporation can also help promoting indigenous products such as handicrafts, fruits and eatables. 

Asking the corporation to pay attention to increasing its sources of income by improving both its infrastructure and services, Rawat said GMVN should properly maintain its facilities and market them online, besides thinking up ways to commercially utilise the assets at its disposal.

“If GMVN guesthouses are renovated and maintained, they can become crucial in helping the corporation overcome it losses,” an official release, quoting Rawat, said.

He also suggested that the corporation connects the Chardham Yatra to its sources of income. “There is no dearth of resources at the corporation’s disposal. What is needed is their better utilisation,” Rawat said.