Mail News Service
Ranchi, Dec 10: On the fourth day of the Jharkhand Assembly’s Winter Session, the House passed the Jharkhand Tourism Development and Registration Amendment Bill, 2025 while withdrawing four previously approved private university bills.
The withdrawn bills include the C.V. Raman Global University Bill (2023), Arogyam International University Bill (2023)—both passed on August 2, 2023—along with the Jain University Bill (2023) passed on March 21, and the Shine National University Bill (2023) cleared on December 20, 2023.
These were rolled back following revised norms and procedures for setting up private universities.
The Speaker also informed the House that 12 new requests have been approved since December 5 and will be forwarded to the respective departments.
During discussions on sending the tourism amendment bill to a select committee, MLA Raj Sinha said that local legislators should have a greater say in tourism-related matters.
He noted that it often seems officials and deputy commissioners hold most of the information, despite local representatives having deeper familiarity with their regions.
He cited the deterioration of Bhathinda Falls in Dhanbad—once a site for film shoots and now marred by frequent drowning incidents—as an example.
Sinha called for trained local divers, beautification of abandoned mines, and efforts to boost tourism as a revenue-generating industry.
MLA Naveen Jaiswal echoed similar demands, urging that area MLAs be nominated to committees overseeing tourist destinations, as they can contribute practical insights.
Replying to the debate, Sudivya Sonu announced that dedicated administrative units will be created at major tourist sites.
These bodies will have powers to collect entry taxes from vehicles and will be chaired by the district’s deputy commissioner.
Additional members will be nominated by the department.
He said the government will provide full support, and a smaller committee has already been formed to streamline tourism operations.
The amendment bill also proposes measures to clear encroachments in tourism zones, build proper parking areas, and introduce financial penalties for rule violations.
Sonu added that running this system through the general body would not be practical due to administrative limitations.
