MTDC privatises 30 resorts across state, motives questioned

Mumbai: It’s a decision that will change the tourist experience at state-run resorts across Maharashtra – and also hugely benefit private developers. The Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) has invited bids to privatise over 30 properties and develop land under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) model. These include popular destinations such as Ganpatipule, Tarkarli, Shirdi, Karla, Alibag, Matheran and Tadoba.
Manojkumar Suryawanshi, Managing Director of MTDC, says, “In the first phase, we have invited bids for 30 tourist destinations. Later, we will add sites to the list. We are developing them as per the Tourism Policy of Maharashtra 2024.”
Tourism Department officials say that MTDC’s resorts are not up to par, whereas states such as Kerala and Goa have resorts that offer an excellent tourist experience. “In the 1990s, Sindhudurg (in Maharashtra) was declared a tourist district in the state. It has beautiful beaches comparable to those in Goa, and, yet, there were no starred hotels in Sindhudurg until recently. Now, two five-star hotels are being built in Sindhudurg, whereas Goa has 27 five-star hotels,” an official said. He added that MTDC plans to develop three- to five-star resorts in the Konkan. “Old resorts will be expanded and new ones will be constructed under the PPP model.”
The apparent rush to take such a colossal decision ahead of the upcoming assembly election has, however, been strongly criticised by Shiv Sena (UBT) MLC and Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve. He has questioned the motive behind the bonanza to private developers, saying Tourism Minister Girish Mahajan owes the people an explanation.
Using World Tourism Day today to slam the move, Danve said, “Why does MTDC and the tourism minister want to privatise profit-making resorts at Ganpatipule, Tarkarli, Chhatrapati Sambhaji Nagar, Shirdi, Karla, Bhandardara etc? This is nothing but a scam to give prime lands to private players. He also questioned the need to offer sops like capital subsidy of 20 per cent, GST refund, Stamp Duty concessions and concessions in electricity tariff to private players.
Tourism Minister Girish Mahajan told HT, “We have decided to develop MTDC resorts and open land in three categories – three-star, four-star and five-star. This will attract international tourists and affluent domestic tourists to these destinations. MTDC will continue own the land and will get a handsome sum upfront. It will also receive a 12.5-per cent share in gross revenue from these properties.”
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‘Probe PWD projects’
Leader of the Opposition in the Legislative Council, Ambadas Danve, has urged Governor C P Radhakrishnan to initiate an investigation into alleged large-scale financial mismanagement in projects by the Public Works Department (PWD). “ ₹21,148 crore has been allotted in the budget for capital expenditure for PWD, of which ₹6,738 crore has been disbursed until now. However, the PWD has approved 30,000 new and some old works, estimated at ₹86,000 crore. It is not clear how the PWD sanctioned these works when the previous liability is ₹16,000 crore,” Danve has said in a letter to Radhakrishnan.