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New Indian Express
7 days ago
- Business
- New Indian Express
Kerala to roll out K-Home scheme; turn vacant houses into budget tourist stays
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The ambitious K-Home initiative of Kerala Tourism is gaining steam with the tourism department submitting a comprehensive set of guidelines and standard operating procedures to facilitate the transformation of unoccupied homes into budget friendly tourist accommodations. Announced in the recent budget, K-Home is going to be a new tourism product that aims to tap into the state's large inventory of vacant houses particularly those owned by NRIs and convert them into viable short-stay lodging facilities for travellers. As per a rough estimate prepared by the state government, there are around 10-15 lakh unoccupied or vacant houses. Tourism Minister P A Mohammad Riyas said that K-Home will be rolled out soon. 'Preparatory works are under way for the launch of the K-Home initiative. K-Home is expected to become a key product that will strengthen Kerala's tourism sector. It is envisioned as an upgraded version of homestays,' he said. According to official sources, the committee constituted by the department has finalised the guidelines for launching K-Homes. 'We have submitted it to the government. Once the guidelines are approved, immediate steps will be launched to roll out the initiative. The guidelines are intended to bring clarity to stakeholders and house owners on how to enrol and be part of the scheme,' said the official. The state government has earmarked Rs 5 crore for the project and the tourism department is planning to pilot the project in a 10- km radius of all major tourism destinations in the state. 'We need to build a safe platform for the property owner and registered tourism operator to connect. There will be a verification process for the operator. Also the house owners need to have a clear idea about what all documents need to be produced to enrol their property for the scheme,' said the official. Once the guidelines are approved, the authorities are planning to launch a survey in a 10-km radius of the tourism destination to find out vacant houses. According to officials, the domestic arrivals are increasing year after year and K-Homes will help add more affordable accommodation units for the domestic tourists.
New Indian Express
07-07-2025
- Business
- New Indian Express
Land acquisition cost doubles, fund crunch hits ORR project amid delays
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The long-pending Outer Ring Road (ORR) project in Thiruvananthapuram connecting Vizhinjam to Navaikulam via Thekkada is facing major financial and administrative impasse as the cost of land acquisition has doubled from Rs 1,800 crore to Rs 3,800 crore. According to official sources, this estimate is valid till August and if the government fails to initiate the procedures to disburse the funds to the land owners by then, the cost will further escalate. As per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act, beneficiaries are entitled to 12 per cent annual interest on delayed payments, calculated from the date of land possession to the date of actual compensation. Initially, the estimate for land acquisition stood at around Rs 1,800 crore with the state and Centre chipping in 50 per cent, each. The project, which requires 314 hectares of land across 24 villages, has been stuck for over three years with the land owners clamouring for compensation. The recent estimates show that the cost of land acquisition has escalated more than 100 per cent, severely impacting the project. According to official sources, the land acquisition procedures took off around three years ago and the National Highway Authority of India (NHAI) has given the revised estimates for the land acquisition as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Act recently. 'The estimates will continue to multiply if the project doesn't take off immediately,' said an official source. Last month, after the meeting with the Union Minister for Road Transport and Highways Nitin Gadkari, PWD Minister P A Mohammad Riyas had announced that the Centre would give the final approval for the ORR project by July end. An official of the district administration said that after the meeting a team from the Centre came down to assess the situation.
