Maharashtra government likely to open resorts in Kashmir

MUMBAI: The Maharashtra government is allegedly contemplating to start at least two luxury resorts in Kashmir and Ladakh. 

At its meeting last week the board of directors of Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) discussed the idea and is likely to be put into effect this week, said a senior official from the state tourism department on condition of anonymity.

State tourism minister Jaykumar Rawal said, "In the scrapping of article 370 and article 35A we saw an opportunity and accordingly the idea of opening up resorts in Ladakh and Kashmir was discussed at the MTDC meeting". 

He also stated that the issue was also briefly mentioned during the state cabinet meeting on Tuesday but, the detailed proposal is yet to be put up before the cabinet which is likely to be done after the preliminary survey regarding the proposal is made within next couple of week.

According to the discussion at the MTDC meeting, the MTDC has made a provision of Rs 2 crore initially for the two resorts in two of the newest union territories that were created after the abrogation of article 370 and article 35A of the constitution.

The maximum number of tourists visiting Ladakh are from Maharashtra. Also, the pilgrims to Amarnath shrine have significant numbers of tourists from Maharashtra. So, basically the plan is to search for opportunities to serve these tourists, Rawal said while explaining the idea.

According to officials, the MTDC plans to buy land in Pahalgam and Leh. While resort in Pahalgam will cater to Amarnath Yatra pilgrims, the one in Leh would be a centre for adventure sports.

“The resort will be as modern as those developed by MTDC in Maharashtra. The official decision will be taken soon,” Rawal said.