Eyeing boost in state tourism, govt launches 16 subsidised vehicles

SHILLONG, June 30: Aiming to provide a much-needed fillip to the tourism industry of Meghalaya, the state government on Friday launched 16 vehicles, provided under 50 per cent subsidy for tour operators and individuals.
Launching a total of 16 Innova Crysta during a programme here on Friday, Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma said, “Tourism department has shortlisted 50 individuals and groups from over 600 applicants, who had applied for the scheme. Government is providing a 50 per cent subsidy under the scheme, which includes repayment of loan for the next two years.”
“As a government, we have rolled out various schemes to promote tourism and providing luxury vehicles to individuals and groups will only add to creating a better ecosystem for the tourism sector,” he added.
The chief minister also informed that the government will be giving away a total of 50 vehicles in the current financial year. “Depending on the response and the utility that we see, we intend to do this every year,” he said.
“So if we do it for the next five years, we are expecting that we should be having a minimum of 250 vehicles but after seeing the response and utility, we may increase it to 500 in the next five years,” he added.
Asked if similar intervention will be initiated for buses, the chief minister said that if there is a gap, the government will be happy to examine it.
“There is a special gap that we are looking at. We had done it in the agricultural sector and we had given Mahindra pickups to farmers and associations at subsidised rates,” he said.
When pointed out about apprehensions among commoners that only those close to the government have high chances of availing such schemes, Conrad said, “Our process of selection has been very transparent. In fact, you can see the people who have received it are entrepreneurs and operators who have been linked with the tourism sector.”
“There are people who may say that but since we want impact to be felt on the tourism sector through our schemes, it will be counterproductive for us to do that kind of thing. We have gone ahead ensuring that these kinds of vehicles are given to people who truly deserve it and I know there are many more who deserve it; that is why we will be coming up with a minimum of 250 vehicles and hopefully we will be able to double it to 500 vehicles,” he added.