Garhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 15 Jul: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami today conducted a virtual review of the Tourism Department’s ‘Game Changer Schemes’. On this occasion, he also reviewed private investment trends under the Tourism Policy-2023 besides holding a review of key programmes promoting rural tourism and self-employment. The CM instructed officials to prepare a comprehensive report detailing cumulative private investments, implementation status of MoUs, and scheme-wise financial inflows since the rollout of the policy.
Emphasising on the tourism’s potential beyond visitor numbers, Dhami asserted it as a cornerstone for economic upliftment, job creation at the local level, and an effective step towards mitigating migration from remote areas. He also directed focused efforts to promote winter tourism, to upgrade passenger amenities, and to prioritise tourism-centric inclusive development. He also reiterated the need to assess the carrying capacity of popular destinations such as Mussoorie and Nainital and encouraged the identification and promotion of emerging sites.
The CM also called for expedited implementation of the ‘Tracking Traction Centre Home-Stay Grant Scheme’ to link more families in hill regions with home-stay ventures, and to provide necessary technical and financial support to foster self-employment around trekking routes. Reviewing the ‘Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali Tourism Self-Employment Scheme’, Dhami instructed that loans and grants to youth entrepreneurs be released without delay and called for an impact evaluation of the scheme on beneficiary villages and migration trends.
Further, he directed the officers to begin work under the master plan for the ‘Goljyu Corridor’ covering Almora, Champawat, and Ghorakhal, and for integrated development of religious sites in Rudraprayag. He stressed on the importance of planning regular adventure tourism activities including mountain biking, paragliding, aero sports, and river rafting, and suggested allocation of a dedicated promotional budget along with carrying capacity surveys for each site.
In a push towards emerging segments, the CM also advocated a targeted campaign to promote wedding tourism destinations and directed the preparation of a one-month action plan to establish a ‘Spiritual Economic Zone’ by positioning Gangotri and Dhyanotthan as wellness and spiritual retreats.
During the review meeting, Dhami reiterated that the ‘Game Changer Schemes’ are catalysing tourism-led economic empowerment across the state, particularly benefitting women and youth. He emphasised on a streamlined execution of schemes, and greater transparency in grant disbursements, and visible conversion of investments into tangible infrastructure and services.
A strategic roadmap was proposed for the expansion of the ‘Vibrant Village Scheme’ in border regions and the creation of theme-based ‘Tourism Villages’ at the Panchayat level. The officials shared at the meeting that under the ‘Deen Dayal Upadhyay Home Accommodation Scheme’, 1085 beneficiaries have received nearly Rs 50 crores in grants and 5331 home-stays have been registered, with plans to add 245 more in the financial year 2025-26. It was stated that Tehri, Nainital, and Chamoli districts have shown exceptional progress under the scheme. The ‘Tracking Traction Scheme’ has connected 584 individuals in 115 villages and established 18 trekking centres, with Tehri, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, and Pithoragarh emerging as major beneficiaries. The meeting also reviewed the ‘Tourism Entrepreneurship Promotion Scheme’, which aims to attract high-value projects exceeding Rs 5 crore while supporting smaller local investors. Of the 909 applications received via the single-window portal, 70 per cent came from investors proposing projects under Rs 5 crores.
Among those present at the review meeting included Tourism Minister Satpal Maharaj, Chief Secretary Anand Bardhan, Principal Secretaries RK Sudhanshu and Meenakshi Sundaram, Tourism Secretary Dheeraj Singh Garbyal, Resident Commissioner (New Delhi) Ajay Mishra, and other senior officials.
