Over 1500 homestays in Uttarakhand under NGT scanner

HARIDWAR: Even as tourists from Delhi and other cities head to Mussoorie, Nainital and other places in the hills to get some relief from polluted air, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) has sought response from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) and Uttarakhand government on whether environmental clearances have been obtained by homestay facilities operating in the Uttarakhand hills.

There are currently over 1500 homestays operating in the hill state as per estimates.

Taking cognisance of a petition which alleged “blatant violation of the Environment Protection Act, 1986 by various hospitality entities under the behest of ‘homestays’, being run illegally in the state”, NGT on November 4 formed a joint committee and sought a factual report on the matter from Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB), Uttarakhand Environment Protection and Pollution Control Board (UEPPCB) and Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board. The report has to be submitted to the tribunal within two months.

Incidentally, Uttarakhand government’s ‘Homestay Policy’ doesn’t have a provision for ‘environmental clearances’ even though the state is situated in a fragile eco-system. Confirming that homestays are exempt from any type of no-objection certificate (NOC) or clearances, member secretary of UEPPCB, SP Subudhi, said, “Environment clearances are applicable in Uttarkahand only in case of hotels, dharamshalas and ashrams. Homestays are essentially meant for people who are letting out empty rooms in their homes in order to supplement their incomes, and therefore they don’t come under the purview of environment clearances.”

Currently, 1540 places are registered as homestays in the state, many of them in and around Mussoorie, Nainital, Tehri and Pithoragarh. The state government is promoting the concept aggressively and plans to have over 5000 homestays in the state in the next few years.

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Sources said that the move was intended to check migration and generate livelihood in the hills but of late, hoteliers and start-ups have begun to exploit the provision and register their properties, many of which are commercial ventures, as homestays.

Taking serious note of the issue, NGT chairperson Adarsh Kumar Goel, who heard the matter, commented in his direction, “Question for consideration is whether any safeguards for environmental protection by way of regulatory mechanism are necessary in the matter? Let CPCB, UEPPCB and tourism development board of Uttarkahand look into the matter and submit a report about the safeguards, if any, necessary in the process.”

Welcoming the NGT’s intervention, Gaurav Kumar Bansal, advocate of the petitioner, told TOI, “The green tribunal through this direction is making the Uttarakhand government realise the major damage that's already been done. Several entities that are in the commercial hospitality business are registering themselves as homestays so that they can bypass stringent environmental laws in sensitive Himalayan zones when in fact these laws should be imposed more stringently in such areas.”

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