MALVAN
Not many are aware that four panchayats of Tondavli, Devbag, Tarkarli and Wayri (fort Sindhudurga) in Malvan taluka have been empowered by Maharashtra government to collect a tourism tax from motorists.
According to Panchayat department officials, the three panchayats of Devbag, Tarkarli and Wayri have earned a combined revenue of nearly Rs 6 lakh between January and March, while the Tondavli panchayat is yet to start its collection of tourism tax. According to the government approved rates, a tourism tax levied are Rs 5 (those above 12 years) and Rs 3 (those below 3 years), while a nominal fee of Re 1 is charge for students visiting the beaches on a school picnic.
Maharashtra’s Rural Development department has authorised 16 panchayats to collect this tourism tax in Sindhudurg district.
From the revenue collected by way of tourism tax, 75 percent is utilised on infrastructure in the panchayat area, while the remaining 25 percent is spent to pay workers and to provide other facilities in the village.
Devbag Panchayat was the first coastal village in Malvan taluka to implement the tourism tax on December 28, 2016. The panchayat has collected Rs 1.6 lakh as tourism tax till March 31.
The Wayri-Bhutnath panchayat, which is famous for the Sindhudurga fort, collected revenue of Rs 3.46 lakh from January 1 to March 31, while the Tarkarli panchayat collected tourism tax of Rs 80,000 from February 16 to March 31.
An estimated 2 lakh tourists visited Malvan during this period, of which 1.21 lakh tourists visited the Sindhudurga fort, which is located on an island in the Arabian Sea. The Department of Ports collected revenue of about Rs 10.5 lakh by way of fees from the boat operators transporting visitors to and from the fort from January to March.
