50% subsidy for dhabas in Bihar; boost to tourism, and business along the highways!
Patna: it would seem that the Bihar government is learning its lessons in encouraging entrepreneurs, industries and businesses in Bihar. Instead of invariably wooing big players, the government has now begun to give due attention to the smaller ones with the awareness that numerous small beginnings are more worthwhile and at any rate more feasible in Bihar at this point. The power situation, the scarcity of land and other infrastructural issues certainly put obstacles in front of the bigger schemes, whereas the smaller businesses are able to sort out these problems on their own with minimal help from the government.
In a welcome move thus, the Bihar government today approved a proposal to grant 50 per cent subsidy to those setting up dhabas and related facilities in identified areas under the tourism circuit in the state. Apart from the encouragement it gives to the small entrepreneur, this move may provide Bihar with the essential facilities vital for the growth of the tourism industry. Dhabas along the way are also a means of making road travel more secure and comfortable for families and women.
The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting presided over by the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Principal Secretary (Cabinet Coordination and Secretariat) Ravikant told reporters here. The subsidy to owners of dhabas and related facilities would be 50 per cent of the cost of their investment or a maximum of Rs five lakh and would be given in five installments of over five years, he said.
The subsidy would be given after the project was approved by an independent consultant hired by the state government, Ravikant said. A beneficiary of the subsidy would be required to run the dhaba or related facilities for at least 10 years otherwise the subsidy would be recovered from them, he said. The scheme was taken up under the Tourism Upgradation and Standardization Promotion Policy, 2012, he said.
There has been manifold increase in tourists arrivals in the state in the past six years and a buoyed state government has decided to promote tourist infrastructure other than the Buddhist circuit to give impetus to the industry.