 the  tourism  promotion  authority  bill,  2016 byshri sunil kumar singh, mp————arrangement of clauses ———— clauses 1 short title, extent and commencement 2 definitions 3 declaration of areas having tourism potential as tourist destination 4 constitution of the tourism promotion authority 5 appointment of secretary, chief accounts officer and other staff of the authority 6 headquarters and other offices of the authority 7 meetings and procedure of the authority 8 vacancies not to invalidate proceedings of the authority 9 constitution of the tourism promotion authority fund10 objects of the authority 11 master plan for the development of tourist destinations 12 functions of the authority 13 acquisition of land for development of tourist destination 14 prior intimation of any development work by any local authority to the authority 15 central government to issue directions 16 accounts and audits 17 annual report 18 returns and inspections 19 authentication of orders and documents of authority 20 power to delegate 21 members and officers to be public servants 22 protection of action taken in good faith 23 power to delegate 24 power to remove difficulty 25 power to make rules bill no  227 of  2016 the tourism promotion authority bill, 2016 by shri sunil kumar singh, mp a billto provide for establishment of tourism promotion authority for the promotion of tourism in the country and for matters connected therewithbe  it enacted by parliament in the sixty-seventh year of the republic of india as follows:—1 (1) this act may be called the tourism promotion authority act, 2016short title, extent  and commencement(2) it extends to the whole of india5(3) it shall come into force on such date as the central government may, by notification in the official gazette, appoint2 in this act, unless the context otherwise requires,—definitions(a) "authority" means the tourism promotion authority constituted undersection 4; and(b) "prescribed" means prescribed by rules made under this act3 (1) the central government may, if it is of the opinion that an area has tourism potential in view of its location, ancient or historical importance or natural beauty, it may, by notification in the official gazette, declare that area to be a tourist destination5(2) an area declared under sub-section (1) as tourist destination shall be developed by the authority as per international standardsdeclaration of areas having tourism potential as tourist destination4 (1) the central government shall, by notification in official gazette, constitute an authority to be known as the tourism promotion authority for promotion of tourism and development of tourist destinationsconstitution of the tourism promotion authority10(2) the authority shall be a body corporate, having perpetual succession and a common seal with power to acquire, hold and dispose of property, both movable and immovable and to contract and shall by the said name sue and be sued(3) the authority shall consist of—| (                                     | a   | )   | the minister-in-charge of the union                | - chairperson,      | ex-officio;   ||---------------------------------------|-----|-----|----------------------------------------------------|---------------------|---------------|| ministry of tourism                   |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || 15                                    |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || 20                                    |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || (                                     | b   | )   | one person, whole-time member, to                  | - vice-chairperson; |               || be appointed by the central           |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || government, having proven             |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || experience and expertise in the field |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || of archaeology, country and town      |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || planning, architecture, heritage,     |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || conservation or law                   |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || (                                     | c   | )   | the secretary, union ministry of tourism - member, | ex-officio;         |               || (                                     | d   | )   | the secretary, union ministry of culture           | - member,           | ex-officio;   || 25                                    |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || (                                     | e   | )   | the secretary, union ministry of home              | - member,           | ex-officio;   || affairs                               |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || (                                     | f   | )   | the director general, archaeological               | - member,           | ex-officio;   || survey of india                       |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || (                                     | g   | )   | secretaries, department of tourism of              | - members,          | ex-officio;   || the state governments                 |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || 30                                    |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || (                                     | h   | )   | the member of the house of people                  | - member,           | ex-officio;   || whose constituency include any part   |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || of the tourist destination            |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || (                                     | i   | )   | the municipal commissioner of the                  | - member,           | ex-officio;   || municipality concerned                |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || 35                                    |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || (                                     | j   | )   | the divisional commissioner of the                 | - member,           | ex-officio;   || division concerned                    |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || (                                     | k   | )   | not more than three persons to be                  | - members          |               || nominated by the central government  |     |     |                                                    |                     |               || 40                                    |     |     |                                                    |                     |               |(4) the vice-chairperson and the nominated members shall hold office for a period of three years(5) the salary and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of the vice-chairperson and other members shall be such as may be prescribed5 (1) the central government shall appoint the secretary and the chief accounts officer, respectively, of the authority in such manner as may be prescribed45(2) the secretary and the chief accounts officer shall exercise such powers and perform such duties as may be specified by the central governmentappointment of secretary, chief accounts officer and other staff of the authority(3) the central government shall provide such number of other officers and staff to the authority as may be required for its efficient functioning(4) the salary and allowances payable to and other terms and conditions of the officers and staff of the authority shall be such as may be prescribed6 (1) the headquarter of the authority shall be at new delhi5headquarter and other offices of the authority(2) the authority shall have its offices in every state capital or at such other places as it may deem fit for carrying out the purposes of this act7 (1) the authority shall meet at such times and places and shall observe such rules of procedure in regard to the transaction of its business at its meetings, as may be prescribedmeetings and procedure of the authority10(2) when any member referred to in sub-clause (c) or (d) or (e) of section 3 is unable toattend a meeting of the authority for any reason, he may depute an officer, not below the rank of joint secretary, from his department to attend the meeting and such member shall have the right to vote158 no act or proceeding of the authority shall be invalid by reason of any vacancy in the authorityvacancies not to invalidate proceedings of the authority9 (1) the central government shall, by notification in official gazette, constitute a fund to be known as the tourism promotion authority fund(2) the central government shall, after due appropriation made by parliament by law in this behalf, provide requisite sums to the fund for carrying out the purposes of this actconstitution of the tourism promotion authority fund2010 the objects of the authority shall be—objects of the authority(a) to promote and develop tourism; (b) to improve and strengthen the existing infrastructure in and around ancientmonuments, heritage sites and tourist destinations;(c) to develop new tourist destinations with all basic amenities;25(d) to co-ordinate, support and interact with other departments and agencies forstreamlining services and amenities in and around tourist destinations;(e) to provide safety and security to tourists; and (f) to facilitate and enhance the experience of the tourists3011 (1) the authority shall, as soon as may be, prepare a separate master plan for the development of each tourist destination(2) the master plan shall include—master plan for the development of tourist destinations(a) vision for the development of tourist destination; (b) measures both short term, and long term to promote and develop tourism;and35(c) measures to strengthen the existing infrastructure in and around touristdestination(3) the master plan of a tourist destination shall be published in at least one local newspaper having circulation in that area for inviting objections and suggestions from general public before such date as may be specified in the publication40(4) the authority shall, before finalizing a master plan, take into consideration all objections and suggestions made under sub-section (3)12 the authority shall—functions of the authority(i) prepare a calendar of activities including annual festival, melas, haats to be organised in each forthcoming financial year for the promotion of tourism at different tourist destinations;5(ii) advertise such activities as it considers necessary to promote tourism at different tourist destinations;(iii) interact once in three months with the stakeholders including representatives of the hoteliers, local authorities, police, archaeological survey of india and the tourism department of the state government concerned for proper co-ordination to develop and strengthen tourism infrastructure in and around tourist destinations in the area;10(iv) provide amenities at such rate and in such manner to the visitors as may be notified by the central government in this regard;(v) provide such other amenities as it may deem fit for the development of tourist destination;15(vi) recommend to the central government the measures to be taken for the development of tourist destinations;(vii) coordinate with the local authorities functioning in the area regarding any developmental work undertaken or to be undertaken in or around a tourist destination;20(viii) maintain a website containing all essential information regarding the tourist destination including hotels, monuments and heritage sites, tourist maps, help desk, district administration and tour operators with a view to provide necessary information and help to the tourists;(ix) levy and collect entry fee at such rate and in such manner, as may be prescribed, from visitors at tourist destinations; and25(x) issue such directions as it may deem necessary or expedient to meet the purposes of the act3013 notwithstanding anything contained in any other law for the time being in force, the central government may, on the recommendation of the authority and in consultation with state government concerned, acquire any land required for the purposes of development of a new tourist destination under this actacquisition of land for development of tourist destination14 (1) whenever any development work is to be carried out in or around any the tourist destination by any local authority, such local authority shall inform the authority in writing at least fifteen days before carrying out any development work along with the estimates of expenditure likely to be incurred on development work35(2) the authority shall maintain a register containing details of development works to be undertaken by the local authoritiesprior intimation of any development work by any local authority to the authority(3) any person, who intends to inspect the register maintained under sub-section (2), shall apply to the authority, in such form and manner as may be prescribed40(4) if, in the opinion of the authority, any proposed development work shall adversely affect the tourism potential of a tourist destination, the authority may, after giving an opportunity of being heard to the agency concerned, restrain such agency from carrying out any such development work15 the central government shall, from time to time, issue such directions to the authority, as may be necessary for carrying out the purposes of this actcentral government to issue directions45accounts and audits16 (1) the authority shall maintain proper accounts and other relevant records and prepare an annual statement of accounts including the balance-sheet in such form as may be prescribed(2) the accounts of the authority shall be audited at such intervals as may be specified by the central governmentannual report5| 17                                                                                             ||-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| manner, as may be prescribed by the central government, giving a full account of its activities || during the previous year, and copies of the report shall be forwarded to the central            || government                                                                                     |(2) a copy of the report forwarded under sub-section (1) shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is received, before each house of parliamentreturns and inspections1018 (1) the authority shall furnish to the central government at such time and in suchform and manner, as may be prescribed, such returns, statements and other particulars in regard to any proposed or existing programme for the promotion and development of tourism, as the central government may, from time to time require15(2) the authority or any other officer authorized on its behalf, may call for reports and other information from the state government or any other agency, as may be required by it for the efficient administration of this act and it shall be incumbent for the state government or other agency concerned to furnish the information so required| 19                                                                                            | all permissions, orders, decisions, notices and other documents of the authority   ||------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| shall be authenticated by the signature of the secretary to the authority or any other officer |                                                                                    || authorized by the authority in that behalf                                                    |                                                                                    || authentication                                                                                 |                                                                                    || of orders and                                                                                  |                                                                                    || documents of                                                                                   |                                                                                    || authority                                                                                     |                                                                                    || 20                                                                                             |                                                                                    || power to                                                                                       |                                                                                    || delegate                                                                                      |                                                                                    || 20                                                                                            | the authority may, by general or special order, direct that any power exercisable  || by it under this act may be exercised by such officer or local authority in such cases and     |                                                                                    || subject to such conditions as may be specified therein                                        |                                                                                    || 25                                                                                             |                                                                                    || 21                                                                                            | the vice-chairperson, every member, officer and other employees of the authority   || shall be deemed, when acting or purporting to act in pursuance of any of the provisions of     |                                                                                    || this act, to be public servant within the meaning of section 21 of the indian penal code      |                                                                                    |45 of 1860members and officers to be public servants protection of action taken in good faith22 no suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall lie against the authority or anymember, officer or other employees of the authority for anything which is in good faith done or intended to be done under this act or the rules or regulations made thereunderpower to delegate3023 the authority may, by general or special order in writing, delegate to thevice-chairperson or any member, officer of the authority or any other person subject to such conditions, if any, as may be specified in the order, such of its powers and functions under this act, as it may deem necessarypower to remove difficulty3524 (1) if any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provision of this act, the centralgovernment may, by order published in the official  gazette, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this act, as may appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removal of the difficulty:provided that no such order shall be made after the expiry of a period of two years from the date of the commencement of this act(2) every order made under this section shall, as soon as may be after it is made, be laid before each house of parliament40power to make rules4550| 25                                                                                              |   ( | 1                                                                                   ||--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----|-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|| for carrying out the purposes of this act                                                       |     |                                                                                     || (                                                                                                |   2 | ) every rule made under this act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, || before each house of parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which |     |                                                                                     || may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the        |     |                                                                                     || expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid,    |     |                                                                                     || both houses agree in making any modification in the rule or both the houses agree that the       |     |                                                                                     || rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be  |     |                                                                                     || of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall     |     |                                                                                     || be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule                |     |                                                                                     | statement of objects  and reasonstourism in india has shown a phenomenal growth in recent times there are still a large number of places in india which have got immense tourist potential, but unfortunately due to various reasons the potential can not be best utilized the meager number of inbound foreign tourists in comparison to other countries clearly establish the lack of proactive actions on our part we have grossly failed to market our tourist destinations, heritage monuments and sites aggressively whether nationally or internationally our existing tourist destinations lack facilities and amenities for the tourists and therefore, they do not experience a comfortable stay during their visitsthe directorates of tourism, both of the central and the state governments, could not also achieve the purpose of promoting tourism and developing the destinations as model tourist destinations undoubtedly, the promotion of tourism would enhance our prosperity besides increasing the avenues of employment we, therefore, urgently need the statutory bodies, which can have the full focus and powers to work in this sphere of tourismthe present bill, keeping in view promotion and development of tourism in the country, provides for—(i) establishment of tourism promotion authority for promotion and development of tourism;(ii) to improve and strengthen the existing infrastructure in and around tourist places, ancient monuments and heritage sites;(iii) to create and construct new permanent tourist destinations with all basic amenities;(iv) to motivate other departments and agencies for framing requisite schemes;(v) to take steps to promote tourist friendly activities; and (vi) to facilitate and enhance the experience of the touriststhe bill seeks to achieve the above objectives financial memorandumclause 4 of the bill provides for the constitution of the tourism promotion  authority by the central government clause 5 provides for appointment of secretary, chief account officer and other staff of the authority clause 6 provides for headquarter and other offices of the authority clause 7 provides for meetings and procedure of the authority clause 9 provides for constitution of a tourism promotion authority fund clause 12 provides for the promotion of tourism through advertisement, maintaining of website and providing amenities for development of tourist destinations the bill, therefore, if enacted, would involve expenditure from the consolidated fund of indiaat this stage, it is not possible to give the exact amount to be incurred however, it is estimated that a recurring expenditure of about three hundred crore will be involved per annuma non-recurring expenditure of rupees three hundred crore is also likely to be involved memorandum  regarding  delegated  legislationclause 25 of the bill empowers the central government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the bill as the matters will relate to detail only, the delegation of legislative power is, therefore, of a normal character———— abillto provide for establishment of tourism promotion authority for the promotion of tourism in the country and for matters connected therewith————(shri  sunil kumar singh, mp)gmgipmrnd—2559ls(s3)—28-09-2016