The Administrative Council (AC) which met under the chairmanship of Lieutenant Governor, GC Murmu on Wednesday approved policy guidelines for registration/renewal/operation of houseboats in Dal and Nigeen Lakes.
The Council decided thatthe guidelines should conform to the overall framework of Dal conservationframed by the Lakes and Waterways Development Authority (LAWDA), besides anappropriate legal framework would be also instituted for enforcing the policy.
The decision will help to regulate functioning and operationof houseboats in both the water bodies and to preserve the lake for futuregenerations by adopting sustainable tourism, preventing pollution besides,providing conducive and pleasant atmosphere for tourists on one hand and ensuringsustainable source of living for the houseboat owners/shikara wallas on theother hand.
Complying with the directions of the High Court andsuggestions made by the Committee of Experts (CoE) on Dal/Nigeen Lake, thegovernment has taken this step for conservation of the two lakes.
The move will also address environmental concerns and givefurther push to the ongoing activities relating to preservation andconservation of the lakes.
Under the guidelines, the houseboats owners will be able toregister/renew their houseboats after fulfilling certain general conditions.The guidelines also provides constitution of Advisory Committee to be headed byDirector Tourism, Kashmir to identify areas of concern for securing use ofhouseboats for enhancing tourist influx and Regulatory Committee to look afterregistration/renewal process and overall regulation of functioning of thehouseboats.
As per the policy guidelines, no new houseboat shall beallowed to be constructed in Dal/Nigeen Lakes. The provision of categorizationof houseboats based on the facilities has also been made in the guidelines.