In a major initiative to attract the film makers the Uttarakhand government has waived off the shooting fees it used to levy on them to shoot movies in the state. The secretary in charge and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Uttarakhand Film Development Board, Dr Pankaj Kumar Pandey said that apart from single window system, the departments of state government would not charge any fees from the film makers. He however clarified that filmmakers would have to pay any such charge which is sought for the place where shooting is scheduled or parking fee.
To provide relief from the fee, the department has brought in necessary changes in the ‘Uttarakhand Film Policy 2015. At present a fees of Rs 15000 per month is charged on any regional language movie of U”khand while an amount of Rs 10000 per day is charged on other filmmakers as shooting fees. It is worth mentioning here that the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand Trivendra Singh Rawat had recently announced waiving off shooting fees from the filmmakers. Talking to The Pioneer, Pandey said that the decision to waive off the shooting fees would ensure in shooting of more movies in the State. It must be written here that this will also enchance the credibility of the State Government as far as boosting for film industry is concerned.
He said that an environment conducive for filmmaking is being created in Uttarakhand. Pandey informed that in last one year four big budget movies were shot in Uttarakhand and this number is expected to increase further.
The board is contemplating more changes in the Uttarakhand Film Policy- 2015 and recently it had invited suggestions from general public and persons associated with movies.