In 2022, the Tamil Nadu government’s Department of Tourism unveiled its “Guidelines for Registration and Classification of Bed and Breakfast Establishments and Homestay Establishments.”
The guidelines, which were framed to regularise homestays as well as Bed and Breakfasts functioning across the State, has led to a huge surge in such businesses in the Nilgiris, which hotel owners say puts them at a disadvantage, while also bringing with them a gamut of problems, including increasing the pressures on the district’s already overburdened infrastructure as well as its fragile ecology.
Since the guidelines were released, hundreds of people operating homestays and Bed and Breakfasts have reportedly applied to the district administration for permissions. “This causes a number of problems for already existing hotels and resorts, whose businesses have been hit tremendously by the regularisation of these businesses,” said a hotel owner in Udhagamandalam.
Hotel owners say that they are at a disadvantage when compared to homestays and Bed and Breakfasts due to higher running costs. “While we (the hotels and resorts) are treated as commercial, money-making enterprises, the homestays only have to pay commercial tariffs for electricity and property, and are not so strictly monitored,” said another hotel owner.
N. Chandrashekar, honorary secretary of the Nilgiris Hotels and Restaurants Association (NHRA), said the association had submitted petitions to district collectors, urging them to not issue permits. “However, as it was a blanket set of guidelines applicable across the State, they had to issue permits to people who applied,” said Mr. Chandrashekar, who added that safety and security of guests, as well as lack of regulation of the tariffs being charged by these businesses were a cause for concern.
A prominent conservationist from the Nilgiris said that many of these businesses were also operating in key wildlife corridors in Gudalur and within the Mudumalai Tiger Reserve. “There should be special areas, such as in tiger reserves and in designated Eco-Sensitive Zones where permits should not be given to any resorts, hotels, homestays or Bed and Breakfasts,” said the conservationist, pointing to the existing orders against illegal resorts which were operational in the Sigur Elephant Corridor.
In 2021, the Madras High Court had also passed orders against issuing permissions for the operation of such businesses in the Nilgiris without conducting a scientific study regarding the impact of such businesses on the ecology of the Nilgiris. ‘Elephant’ G. Rajendran, a social activist and lawyer, said the guidelines by the Tourism Department and the regularisation of such businesses were illegal and that the case against the permits issued were still being challenged in court.
He said more permissions for businesses would only lead to further destruction of the Nilgiris’ fragile ecosystem.
Consumer activists from the Nilgiris said that allowing commercial activities in what were previously residential properties would lead to more tourist traffic into the district’s major towns, lead to increase in housing rents for local residents and also put a strain on the availability of resources like water. “There has to be a scientific study conducted to understand how many tourists the district can accommodate. Allowing the operation of homestays and bed and breakfasts in a district which is already overburdened by the strain of unsustainable tourism will only lead to more problems for the district’s residents and its ecology,” he said.
Anita Devaram, vice-president of the Nilgiri Homestay and Bed & Breakfast Association, said small business owners like herself were paying commercial tariff rates for electricity as well as property tax. She said the window for regularising such businesses had been closed to new applicants for the last few months due to cases pending in court. “We agree that there are certain unscrupulous homestay owners operating without licences. However, they are not part of our association and the government should act against them,” said Ms. Devaram.
