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| Devise common strategy to promote tourism in J&K: High Court to Govt | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, Nov 2: High Court has asked the Tourism Department to devise a common strategy to promote tourism in Jammu and Kashmir.
Justice Rajesh Bindal while hearing a petition, asked Secretary, Tourism, Law Secretary and Managing Director of J&K Tourism Corporation to sit together and plan a common strategy and platform to promote tourism in the Union Territory instead of sitting in offices and remain busy in Durbar moves only. Justice Bindal also directed the officers to spend time to find out accommodation for its staff at Jammu and Srinagar.
The petitioner had filed the present petition praying for quashing of E-NIT No. 09 of 2019 dated 27.03.2019. Further direction was sought to allot the restaurants intended to be licensed earlier vide E-NIT No. 04 of 2019 dated 25.01.2019, in favour of the petitioner. Advocate Meenakshi Salathia appearing for the petitioner submitted that J&K State Cable Car Corporation Jammu Limited (for short ‘the Corporation’) issued E-NIT No. 04 of 2019 dated 25.01.2019. It was for grant of license for running the restaurants at three terminals of Jammu Ropeway Project. The license was to be granted for a period of five years. The minimum reserved bid was fixed at Rs. 10.00 lakhs. One of the important condition in the tender document was that bidder should be a national level food chain outlet company with a minimum turnover of Rs. 2.5 crores per annum. Balance sheet for the last three years was required to be furnished alongwith the bid. The petitioner, who is a franchisee of the national level food chain, namely ‘Sagar Ratna’, was one of the bidders. To establish this fact and also to refer to the earlier NITs issued by the Corporation for licensing of the same restaurants.
Justice Rajesh Bindal after hearing both the sides observed that from the material placed on record by the parties, it is evident that the Corporation executed Jammu Ropeway Project connecting Bahu Fort to Peerkho. It has three terminals namely - Bahu, Mahamaya and Peerkho Stations. At these three stations, the Corporation had constructed restaurants. The intention was to outsource these restaurants on license basis for a period of five years. Initially, the effort was made to award license to a national level food chain outlet owners, having sufficient experience in the relevant field but the fact remains that despite repeated efforts, the Corporation was not successful. A table has been prepared by the petitioner and annexed with the writ petition at page No. 23, giving details of five NITs issued prior to the one in question in the present writ petition for the same purpose. Apparently, the aforesaid table has been prepared with information supplied to one RTI activist in response to queries raised by him.
The information is evident of the competence and seriousness of the officers of the Corporation, who could not finalize even a tender for grant of license for running three restaurants at different stations on Jammu Ropeway Project.
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