Rajasthan Rural Tourism Scheme 2022 — Rural Guest House, Agro Tourism Unit, Camping Site, Caravan Park and Home Stay in Villages

The Rajasthan Rural Tourism Scheme was announced in the 2022-23 budget and notified by the Department of Tourism on 30 November 2022, in pursuance of the cabinet decision of 26 November 2022. Its purpose is to take tourism into villages — showing village life, art, culture and heritage to the visitor, and putting the earnings into the hands of the village: employment, encouragement for folk art, and protection of handicraft.

The scheme applies only to rural areas of Rajasthan, meaning the area outside municipal limits where a gram panchayat functions. It came into force on the date of the notification and stays in force until it is superseded. The administrative department is the Department of Tourism, and the definitions it does not carry itself are taken from the Rajasthan Tourism Policy 2020 and the prevailing Tourism Unit Policy.

Rural Guest House

A house in a rural residential or abadi area, registered by the Tourist Reception Centre, that gives 6 to 10 rooms on rent to tourists for temporary stay along with food.

Agro Tourism Unit

A tourism unit approved on rural agricultural land, of at least 2,000 square metres and at most 2 hectares. Up to 10 per cent of the land may be built upon — ground floor and one floor, up to a total height of 9 metres — for stay and food. The remaining 90 per cent stays under farming and horticulture, camel and horse farms, birds and livestock, sowing, handicraft and gardens, so that the visitor experiences the village surroundings.

Camping Site

A tourism unit approved on rural agricultural land, of at least 1,000 square metres and at most 1 hectare. Tents for temporary stay and food are allowed on 10 per cent of the land; the other 90 per cent carries the farm, camel and horse farms, livestock and garden activities the visitor comes for.

Caravan Park

A tourism unit approved on rural agricultural land, of at least 1,000 square metres and at most 1 hectare, where caravans park along with their guests. It must have an electricity connection, clean water, a sewer connection for waste disposal, and additional toilets and bathrooms.

Home Stay (paying guest)

The Home Stay scheme already issued by the Department of Tourism now applies in rural areas as well. Under it the owner of a house gives up to 5 rooms in their own home to tourists.

Registration of a Rural Guest House, and the project approval and registration of an Agro Tourism Unit, Camping Site or Caravan Park, are all done by the concerned Tourist Reception Centre of the Department of Tourism.

• •Stamp duty: 100 per cent exemption. Twenty-five per cent is payable at the start and is refunded when the certificate showing that the tourism unit has started is produced.
• •State GST: 100 per cent of the State GST payable and deposited is reimbursed for ten years.
• •Interest subsidy: on loans up to ₹25 lakh under the Mukhyamantri Laghu Udyog Protsahan Yojana, the subsidy is 9 per cent in place of 7 per cent.
• •Land conversion and building plan approval are not required for rural tourism units.
• •Rural tourism inside forest department areas is promoted under the Rajasthan Eco Tourism Policy 2021.
• •Projects set up by local folk artists, handicraft artisans and rural startups get priority in approval and in the benefits payable.

Besides these, the rules of the concerned departments apply. Each department was required to amend its own acts, sub-rules, rules and guidelines immediately after the scheme was issued, so that the benefits can be given.

Rural Guest House — registration

• •The applicant files the registration application in Form 1(अ) with the officer in charge of the concerned Tourist Reception Centre.
• •Within 7 working days of receiving it, the officer issues a temporary registration in Form 1(ब) on the strength of the application, the self-declaration and the documents produced. The temporary registration is valid for 6 months and entitles the applicant to run the guest house for that period.
• •If the temporary registration certificate is not issued within those 7 working days, the unit is treated as registered and the officer concerned is answerable for it.
• •The officer must inspect the guest house within 3 months of the temporary registration. Any shortfall in the qualifications or requirements is communicated to the applicant within a week of the inspection, and the applicant then has 3 months to put it right.
• •If the officer is satisfied after those 3 months, the registration certificate is issued in Form 1(स). If the shortfalls were not made good, the temporary registration is withdrawn and the application is cancelled, with notice to the applicant and to the offices concerned.
• •The registration certificate is valid for two years from the date it is issued.

Agro Tourism Unit, Camping Site and Caravan Park — project approval, then registration

• •The applicant files the project approval application in Form 2(अ) with the concerned Tourist Reception Centre.
• •The site survey of the proposed location and the approval are completed by the officer in charge within 45 working days; the project approval is issued in Form 2(ब).
• •Within 3 years of project approval, the applicant completes the project as per the building plan attached to the application and applies for registration of the rural tourism unit in Form 2(स).
• •The officer in charge examines the application and issues a temporary registration in Form 2(द) within 7 working days. It is valid for 6 months and allows the unit to operate. Again, if it is not issued within 7 working days the unit is treated as registered and the officer is answerable.
• •Inspection follows within 3 months of the temporary registration, with the same one-week notice of shortfalls and the same 3 months to correct them; the registration certificate is then issued in Form 2(य).
• •The registration certificate is valid for two years from the date it is issued.

Renewal

• •The renewal application is filed in Form 5, at most 3 months and at least 2 months before the registration expires.
• •The officer in charge of the Tourist Reception Centre may inspect the unit and accept or refuse the application.
• •If no renewal application is filed within that period, the unit has to apply for registration afresh.
• •A renewal certificate is also valid for two years from the date it is issued.

Appeal

If the officer in charge rejects an application, the applicant may appeal to the Director or Commissioner of the Department of Tourism within 30 days of the rejection, with the documents. The decision of the Director or Commissioner is final, and an appeal filed after that period is not accepted.

The fee is deposited by e-challan or online, payable to the Commissioner or Director, Department of Tourism, Government of Rajasthan, Jaipur. It is not refundable.

Facilities for tourists

• •Regular supply of water and electricity, with proper lighting, ventilation and suitable furniture.
• •Access for guests, during their stay, to the farming activities and other activities across the whole unit including the fields.
• •Cleanliness, tidiness and safety measures on the premises, and the premises kept in good condition.
• •Adequate parking on the premises.
• •Environment-friendly disposal of waste, and a facility for emptying toilet and black water waste.
• •A charging facility for electric vehicles, and an environment-friendly power backup.
• •Use of solar energy is encouraged, and an on-call motor mechanic must be available.

Compliances

• •A food licence under the Food Safety and Standards Act (FSSAI) must be taken before the unit starts operating.
• •The general instructions for operators (point 11 of the scheme) must be followed, printed on a banner in the reception room and kept in every room as a brochure or pamphlet.
• •The operator carries full responsibility for the safety of tourists, and records the particulars of every person allowed in for identification.
• •Adequate fire extinguishers and other measures against accidents must be in place as per the rules.
• •A change of ownership by transfer or inheritance must be reported to the tourism office in the prescribed form, with self-certified documents and a signed self-declaration.
• •Full particulars of foreign tourists must be given to the concerned police station as required by law.
• •All prevailing government acts, laws, rules and regulations must be followed, and the Commissioner or Director may impose further conditions from time to time.
• •Guests staying in the unit are to be given every assistance, including immediate medical and transport help in an emergency or accident.

General instructions for operators

• •Proper waste management and disposal, and suitable parking for tourist vehicles.
• •Respect for local culture and sentiment during the guests' stay, cultural programmes through local folk artists, and introductions to handicraft artisans.
• •Rural activities to make the stay lively — farming and horticulture work, rural sports, cultural programmes, and horse, camel, jeep, motorcycle and bullock-cart rides.
• •Safety of stray animals, and first aid, an on-call doctor, an ambulance and an on-call motor mechanic arranged for emergencies.
• •A telephone or mobile reachable 24 hours, and the name and number of the emergency contact displayed.
• •Prescribed noise standards when sound equipment is used, and care for the free movement and safety of wildlife where the unit is near a forest area.
• •Only authorised persons allowed in; no sale of unauthorised substances or drinks; no child labour; and guests encouraged to treat animals well and to respect their rights.

The Tourist Reception Centres, with the gram panchayat and panchayat samiti, also organise rural and traditional sports competitions and programmes from time to time, so that visitors meet village culture, local folk artists and handicraft artisans.

• •The Tourist Reception Centre takes copies of self-certified ownership documents; the applicant remains fully responsible for their genuineness and for legal compliance.
• •Rural tourism units are allowed on a 15-feet wide road or on a recommended route.
• •The applicant is responsible for paying every statutory fee and tax.
• •If any part of the land is needed for a proposed road or a road development project, the approval is treated as modified or cancelled accordingly.
• •If the land is affected by a direction, notification, circular, rule or order on forest reserves or wildlife sanctuaries issued by the state or central government, the approval stands cancelled or modified automatically. In an eco-sensitive zone, rural tourism units are subject to the orders of the Honourable Supreme Court and High Court.
• •If the land falls in the catchment area of a river or drain, the sanction is treated as cancelled or modified.
• •The scheme does not apply in prohibited areas or on prohibited land.
• •Land already converted for the purpose of a tourism unit is not eligible under this scheme.
• •If a high-voltage electric line passes over the land, the applicant must follow the prevailing building rules in that respect.
• •The approval cannot be treated as a no-objection certificate of any department.
• •The project approval or registration issued by the Tourist Reception Centre does not certify approval of the building plan, regularisation of the building, or ownership of it — and the department records that on the approval itself.
• •If the terms or conditions are breached, the applicant is personally answerable for the penalties laid down in the rules and laws of the departments concerned.

The registration form asks for the building name and number, the applicant's name, address and Aadhaar number, the gram panchayat, police station, tehsil and development authority concerned, the ownership document (jamabandi, patta, allotment letter or registered lease deed), the self-certified building plan, the width of the road, the parking available, the plot area and covered area, the number of rooms offered to tourists with their type and proposed tariff, the food to be provided, and the e-challan or online receipt number for the fee.