Jharkhand Tourism Development and Registration Act, 2015
No: 17 Dated: Jan, 22 2016
THE JHARKHAND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT AND REGISTRATION ACT, 2015
(Jharkhand Act 17,2015)
An Act to enact a law relating to registration of persons engaged in Tourist trade, Constitution of Tourism Development Authority(s) and other matters connected therewith.
Be it enacted by the Legislative Assembly of Jharkhand in the sixty sixth year of the Republic of India, as follows :
CHAPTER-I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, extent and commencement:- (1) This Act may be called the Jharkhand Tourism Development and Registration Act, 2015.
(2) It extends to the whole of the State of Jharkhand.
(3) It shall come into force from the date of notification in the Official Gazette.
2. Exemptions:- (1) The Government may by notification direct that all or any of the provisions of this Act shall not, subject to such terms and conditions as it may specify, apply generally;
i. to a premises used for a public purpose of a charitable nature or to any class of premises used for such purposes;
ii. to a premises held by a public trust for a religious or charitable purpose let out at a nominal rent;
iii. to a premises held by a public trust for a religious or charitable purpose and administered by a local authority; and
iv. to a rest house, dak bungalow, circuit house, inspection hut, sarai or any institution or premises managed or run by the Government or a local authority.
(2) The Government may also by order, direct that all or any of the provisions of ChapterIV shall not apply to such hotels or institutions, or such class of hotels or institutions, subject to such terms and conditions, if any, as may be specified in the order.
3. Definitions:- In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context:
(a) "adventure sports" means an outdoor activity undertaken for sports or recreation on land or in water or in the air as the case may be, which shall include water sports, aerosports, trekking, rock climbing, rafting, bunji-jumping and ballooning with an inherit risk to the life or limb of the participant or any other sports as may be notified by the Government from time to time;
(b) "adventure sports operator" means any person or organization or enterprise, as the case may be engaged in or offering to engage for adventure sports on commercial basis i.e. for the purpose of training, recreation or sports;
(c) "amenity" includes roads, water-supply, street lighting, drainage, sewerage, toilet, information centre, souvenir shop, garbage disposal, bar, restaurant, hotel, motel, golf course, amusement park, guest house, school, housing, hospital and various recreation facilities and such other convenience and facility as the State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify to be an amenity for the propose of this Act;
(d) "Authority" means Tourism Development Authority established under Section 4 of this Act.
(e) "Certificate of Registration" means a certificate issued under this Act.
(f) "Department" means the Department of Tourism, Art Culture, Sports & Youth Affairs, Jharkhand.
(g) "Government" means the Government of Jharkhand;
(h) "guide" means a person who engages himself as a paid guide for the tourists;
(i) "local authority" means the Municipal Corporation or Municipal Council or Cantonment Board or Nagar Panchayat or Gram Panchayat or Special Area Development Authority;
(j) "malpractice" include cheating, touting, impersonation, obstruction in allowing free choice for stay or travel arrangement, charging rent or remuneration higher than that fixed under this Act failure to display the rent list, failure to give cash memos, willful failure to execute an order within the stipulated period and according to the terms agreed upon, failure to provide accommodation to the tourists when available, failure to provide promised facilities and providing substandard equipment and untrained personnel by the adventure sports operator;
Explanation - The expression "touting" means coercing for accommodation, transportation, sight seeing or pestering for any particular premises, establishment or any other services connected with tourism with the consideration of personal benefit;
(k) "Official Gazette" means the Rajpatra, Jharkhand;
(l) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(m) "prescribed authority" means the authority notified as such by the Government ' provided that different authorities may be notified for different areas and for different provisions of this Act;
(n) "regulation" means a regulation made under this Act by the Authority constituted under Section 4;
(o) "rule" means a rule made under this Act by the State Government.
(p) "season" means the period from 15th September to 15th March and from 15th April to 15th June ; and rest of the period shall constitute "off-season";
(q) "tourism unit" means any establishment providing facilities and services to the tourists and includes hotel, resort, motel, time share unit, appartment, house boat, motor caravan, guest house, yatri niwas, restaurant and bar, amusement park, theme park, water sports centre, aerosport centre, golf course, handicraft village complex, camp river cruise, lake cruise project light and sound show adventure sports complex, training institutes for adventure sports or tourism industry doing business for a monetary consideration and any others type of establishment as may be notified by the Government from time to time;
(r) "tourism unit operator” means any person who owns, runs or operates a tourism unit and includes a person managing or operating the affairs on behalf of the proprietor;
(s) "tourist" means a person or group of persons, including pilgrims visiting the State of Jharkhand; and
(t) "travel agent" means a person engaged in the business of making travel arrangements for tourists for monetary consideration;
Explanation - the expression "travel arrangements" includes :-
(a) arrangement for transportation by any mode;
(b) arrangement for lodging with or without food; and
(c) rendering other services such as arranging for games and sports, receipt or despatch of personal belongings of a tourist or taking photograph(s) of a tourist, hiring of guides photographers, arranging equipment for travel or adventure sports.