Udaipur, February 12, 2025 - The hotel owners of Udaipur are unhappy with the Municipal Corporation's decision to cancel the 10-year licence and instead issue licences for only one year. Yashvardhan Ranawat, vice president of the Hotel Association, Udaipur, and president of Business Circle India Tourism has written a letter to Rajasthan’s Chief Secretary Sudhansh Pant. He has asked for immediate action against this decision. Copies of the letter have also been sent to Chief Minister of Rajasthan, Divisional Commissioner, District Collector of Udaipur and Municipal Corporation Commissioner.                            

Sudden Change Without Clear Reason

In his letter, Ranawat has written that on September 20, 2024, the Udaipur Municipal Corporation had issued a historical directive granting 10-year licence for hotels in the city which allowed hotels to get a license for 10 years. This was done under the direction of the-then District Collector Arvind Poswal and was part of the Ease of Doing Business policy to minimise paperwork. However, in December 2024, this 10-year rule was replaced with the one-year licence system without any valid reason, he added.

Problems with One-Year Licence

Ranawat has pointed out major problems with this one-year licence rule. He says that renewing the license every year will waste time and money and hotel owners will have to deal with more paperwork and visits to government offices. 

The Rajasthan government, he says, wants to promote tourism but this rule clearly is against this policy. The hotel industry, he claimed, pays a lot of taxes to the government, including Municipal Corporation fees, GST and income tax but instead of providing support, the government was making things difficult for the hoteliers.

Ranawat further wrote that many hoteliers are frustrated and losing confidence in the system and, going forward, investors may hesitate to put money into Udaipur’s tourism sector. Frequent policy changes create uncertainty and discourage investment, he stressed.

Hoteliers’ Demand

The hoteliers are demanding the re-implementation of the 10-year licence rule and assurance from the District Collector and Municipal Commissioner that hoteliers are not subjected to unnecessary problems.  

Ranawat has warned that if the government does not take action soon, hoteliers might start a protest.

Mukesh Madhwani, president of the Hotel Association Udaipur, and founder of Business Circle India, also urged the government to reconsider this decision.