Shillong, July 12: Tourism Minister Paul Lyngdoh on Wednesday informed that the government has envisaged a very ambitious programme to fund 1,000 homestays annually.

“This means we are going to sanction over 5,000 homestays in the next five years and this will open up opportunities to the youth and entrepreneurs,” Lyngdoh told reporters.

Urging the people to take advantage of the homestay project, the minister said, “Out of the whole amount of Rs 10 lakh per homestay, 70% is being funded entirely by the state government through the PMEGP and the balance amount which is 30% will come under loan from MRB (Meghalaya Rural Bank) for which no mortgages will happen.”

“I would encourage more such applications to come forward. All of these applications will be processed by the MRB and once that is done, the bank informs our department and then the department comes up with a balance amount which is our incentives and this will go directly to the account of the applicant,” he added.

In order to give a further boost to the tourism sector, Lyngdoh also announced the government’s decision to bring some of the major projects which include Orchid Lake Resort, Polo Orchid Shillong under the joint venture mode and said there will be signing of agreement between the government and private players based on their expertise in hospitality and tourism.

“We expect to be able to generate extra revenue through the participation of private players in the tourism sector,” he said.

He further informed that the state will also stand to benefit tremendously from a loan agreement that will be signed between the government of India and the new development bank (NDB) to fund the Meghalaya Eco-tourism Infrastructure Development Programme (MEIDP).

“Through this loan agreement, we will be able to facilitate creation of new accommodation facilities at places like Kongthong, Mawlyndep, Mawlam. There will also be site upgradation of the venue of the Wangala festival and the Tura convention centre,” Lyngdoh said while informing that work is already in progress for upgrading the Tura convention centre for which Rs 50 crore has already been earmarked.

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