Shimla, Aug 5 (PTI) The Himachal Pradesh government will set up Tourism Investment Promotion Council (TIPC), a single-window mechanism for fast-tracking project approvals and providing comprehensive investor facilitation to boost private investment in the sector, an official release said on Tuesday.
The tourism council will serve as a dedicated platform to evaluate and approve tourism projects with an investment of Rs 50 crore and above. It will be chaired by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and supported by an Investment Promotion Cell within the state Department of Tourism.
The Council will be governed by the principles of minimum regulation, maximum facilitation, and time-bound decision-making.
The initiative will help in creating a proactive system wherein the onus of project preparedness will rest with the state government, thereby significantly reducing entry barriers for prospective investors in the state, the statement said.
Furthermore, except in cases involving statutory approvals (under Section 118 or environmental clearances), projects will be deemed approved if not cleared within the stipulated time frame.
“Tourism is a vital economic driver for Himachal Pradesh, contributing significantly to employment generation, income creation and balanced regional development. However, fragmented governance, slow approvals, and inadequate investor facilitation have hampered sectoral growth,” a government spokesperson said.
“The state government has launched TIPC as a strategic, policy-aligned body to attract, assess and enable tourism investments in a streamlined and transparent manner,” the spokesman added.
The state-level apex body will convene monthly meetings to examine and approve investment proposals in a time-bound manner. PTI BPL SHW
This report is auto-generated from PTI news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.