There appears dual authority over allotment of prized Cheshmashahi huts. If the huts are the property of the JK Tourist Development Corporation (JKTDC), why has been their control passed over to the Home and the Estates Departments? Out of 67 huts, only 2 are in the possession of the JKTDC, and the rest are managed by the aforesaid two departments. It is a glaring case of dichotomy, and hence, leads to administrative confusion. The scheme under which huts were constructed at one of the most picturesque sites in the State, in the foot of the lush green Zabarwan Mountains, clearly stated that these were meant for the tourists who visit the valley in summer as well as in winter. Being located at a prestigious location, these huts were expected to fetch handsome rent and thus lend financial strength to the JKTDC.
What actually has happened is that these huts have been given mostly to the bureaucrats and other Government or public enterprise magnates and nothing is left in the hands of the JKTDC for allotment to tourists. Maybe the exigency of giving these huts to bureaucrats and mandarins had arisen out of the abnormal law and order situation in the State owing to long years of insurgency. But the situation has changed drastically and normalcy has been restored to a large extent. The Government has also vouched for it. As such there seems no reason why the huts should not have been got vacated and used for the precise purpose for which these were built.
It was on the basis of restoration of normalcy that the Committee on Public Undertakings of the Legislative Assembly issued directive to the JKTDC on April 3, 2013 to get all the Cheshmashahi huts vacated in a phased manner and make these available to the tourists. However, it is learnt that the JKTDC has failed to implement the directive of the Committee and the huts continue to be in the possession of the occupants. Is it because of the maneuvering of powerful and influential bureaucrats that implementation of the Committee’s directive is ignored and the huts are not vacated? In that case, it is a reflection on the administration’s weak-kneed policy.
JKTDC is already under financial crunch. The Cheshmashahi huts could have earned crores of rupees to the Corporation by way of rent. It will be reminded that the hotels and guest houses in the neighbourhood of these huts and in prestigious localities earn thousands of rupees per night/day by way of rent. The huts in question are far better located with commanding view over the Dal Lake and the scenic beauty of the mountains. Government employees of whatever rank they are can easily arrange private accommodation and pay rent to which they are otherwise entitled. The entire question is about space. If the JKTDC is to develop and grow into a self-generating unit then the sources of revenue like the huts should not be blocked. The plea of the Managing Director JKTDC that the huts will be vacated only when alternate accommodation for Government employees is available and for which initiative has already been taken, does not see plausible. There is a directive from the Committee on Public Undertakings to the MD of JKTDC to get the huts vacated in a phased manner in six months period. The decision of the Committee has to be honoured and cannot be hoodwinked by one or the other argument. JKTDC cannot be subjected to colossus financial losses on account of rent. The directive of the Committee had also provided an alternative to not getting the huts vacated. The Committee has directed the Government to pay the rent at market rate if the huts are not vacated. The ground situation is that neither the huts have been vacated nor rent is paid.
More disturbing consequence of this situation is that the tourists who would have been the messengers of goodwill for the JKTDC all over the world cannot exercise that option because they are not allowed access to the huts by not making these available to them. After all the Department of Tourism has to sell the commodity to national and foreign tourists, whose number has substantially increased owing to restoration of normalcy in the valley to a great extent. We hope that the trend of privatization of allotment of huts will be put an end to, the directive of the House Committee respected and huts got vacated in a phased manner with immediate effect.
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