Srinagar, Aug 27: The J&K Government has done very little in the past one year to de-hire prized huts on the foothills of Zabarwan mountain range here which are under the occupation of top bureaucrats for the past many years now. This is notwithstanding the “space crunch” which the stakeholders in tourism are crying aloud amid inflow of considerable number of tourists—both domestic and foreign—to the Valley this year.
 According to rough official estimates, the prized huts (at least 60) could fetch the cash-starved state a whopping Rs 2 crores every month on account of accommodation charges. The huts are under use by senior bureaucrats as official accommodation. The assets are owned by the J&K Tourism Development Corporation (JKTDC).
 Pertinently Greater Kashmir raised the issue in the past as well, with the State Government assuring that the “de-hiring of huts would be done in a phased manner”—an idea which is still to be taken up for execution.  “You cannot de-hire them in a go. It is to be done in a phased manner. There is need to create adequate accommodation facilities for the officers. But we certainly want to de-hire them gradually. It is true that the huts can fetch good revenue to the state, but the state has to think of other things also. Once we have the facilities in place for the officers, we will certainly de-hire them and put them to use for commercial purposes,” the Minister of State for Tourism, Nasir Aslam Wani, had told Greater Kashmir in May 2011.
 But as on date there has been very little progress on the move despite the fact that the Valley faces acute accommodation crunch for tourists-both domestic and foreign.
 Pertinently, on Boulevard Road and Cheshmashahi vicinity where the huts are located, some of the famous hoteliers charge Rs 20,000 to Rs 30,000 per day/night. In such a scenario, 67 huts at Cheshmashahi, most of which are two-roomed, could easily fetch a minimum of Rs 2 crores per month if rented out at Rs 10,000 only.
 “These huts are located at plush locations vis-à-vis natural beauty and distance from city,” said an official in Tourism Department. “But sadly they are being used for residential purposes for six-months from May to October every year while most of them remain shut during winters, expect for a few which are occasionally put to commercial use.”
 A former bureaucrat had last year lamented that while the state government was often talking about demilitarization, it was not able to free its own property and ensure placement of officers at some other location. “The Government has to create separate accommodation facilities for them,” he had said.
 The bureaucrat had said that “this seclusion” of officers would give a false impression to outsiders that all is not well with the Valley.

PROCESS STARTED: MOS TOURISM
When contacted the Minister of State for Tourism Nasir Aslam Wani said the state government is in the process of de-hiring the huts. “We have initiated the process of putting some huts to commercial use this year. The rest of the huts would be commercialized next year,” he told Greater Kashmir.

Lastupdate on : Mon, 27 Aug 2012 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Mon, 27 Aug 2012 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Tue, 28 Aug 2012 00:00:00 IST