JAMMU: Ramesh Kumar, the Divisional Commissioner for Jammu, presided over a meeting of senior tourism officers and representatives from various stakeholder departments today to discuss the progress of renewing hotel licences. The meeting also included guests from the Jammu section of the Hotel Associations. In order to renew their licences, hotel associations must get NOCs from the Pollution Control Board, Fire Services, Character Certificates, etc. The president of the Hotel Association informed the Div Com of these concerns. They explained that acquiring different NOCs takes a long time and delays the renewal procedure, both of which present problems for hoteliers.The Div Com calmly listened to the concerns and assured the hotel associations that the licence granting procedure will be sped up by streamlining the renewal process. The director of tourism advised those present that the department of tourism has suggested a number of leniencies to speed up the renewal procedure. It was made clear that character certificates would only be required for initial registration and that an affidavit would suffice for renewals. To ensure the prompt renewal of hotel licences, the Div Com gave instructions to all the stakeholder departments to prioritise and streamline the issue of NOCs under their scope. This action is anticipated to lessen difficulties experienced by hoteliers in the area and advance the tourism industry. In addition to senior officers of the Pollution Control Board, Fire Services, Jammu Municipal Corporation, and President Hotel Association, Pawan Gupta, along with Office Bearers of the Association and other concerned parties, the meeting was attended by Deputy Commissioner of Jammu, Sachin Kumar Vaishya, Director of Tourism, Vivekanand Rai, MD of JPDCL, Shiv Anant Tayal, and other relevant parties.
