Hitting out at the state government for imposing a special road tax on the entry of buses and taxis registered in other states, former chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Monday said tourists prefer other states over Himachal Pradesh in the winter.

In a statement issued in Shimla, the BJP leader said that instead of making efforts to revive the tourism sector, the state government is imposing taxes, which is further damaging the tourism industry.

Mr Thakur added that if data from various organisations are to be believed, people have cancelled 90 per cent of the advance bookings for the winter.

The state transport department has imposed a tax of Rs 3,000 to Rs 5,000 per day on commercial vehicles registered in other states and plying in Himachal Pradesh from September 1 onwards.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday said the state government would reduce the special road tax (SRT) and other taxes levied on tourist buses, tempo travellers and commercial tourist vehicles registered outside the state during an interaction with a delegation of Shimla Hotel and Tourism Stakeholders Association here.

Mr Thakur, also the Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, said that the Congress government has imposed additional tax on tourist buses and tempo travellers and due to which, every bus operator has to spend an additional Rs 20,000-Rs 25,000 on a tour of four to five days. This, he said, is not viable for them, and they are taking out Himachal Pradesh from their itinerary.

If the situation continues, income generated by the tourism sector will be greatly affected and thousands of people associated with it will lose their livelihood, Mr Thakur said.

He added that stakeholders in the sector have met the chief minister and expressed their concerns, but so far no meaningful step has been taken by the government.

The Chief Minister should think about the loss caused to the tourism industry, Mr Thakur said, adding that the state government should try to provide support to the sector.

The Centre on Monday constituted a tribunal, headed by a judge of the Delhi High Court, for adjudicating if there is sufficient ground for declaring the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP), headed by jailed separatist Shabir Ahmad Shah, as an unlawful organisation.

The Union Home Ministry on October 5 had declared JKDFP a banned group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 for five years for its “anti-India” and “pro-Pakistan” activities.  In a notification, the home ministry said, “The central government hereby constitutes the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Tribunal consisting of Justice Sachin Datta, Judge, High Court of Delhi, for the purpose of adjudicating whether or not there is sufficient cause for declaring the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP) as an unlawful association,” a home ministry notification said. 

Founded in 1998 by Shah, the JKDFP was a constituent of the separatist amalgam Hurriyat Conference. 

After the division of the Hurriyat Conference in 2003, the JKDFP became a part of the hardline faction headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani then.  Shah is currently lodged in Delhi’s Tihar Jail. He was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) on July 25, 2017, in a 2005 money laundering case. 

He has also been chargesheeted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in a terror-funding case.  In November last year, the ED had attached his Srinagar house in connection with its money laundering probe linked to a case of fuelling terror activities in the Union territory.

While declaring JKDFP a banned organisation, the home ministry had said Shah called Kashmir a “dispute” and ruled out any settlement within the framework of the Constitution of India and the members of his party have been at the forefront of secessionist activities with an intention to create a separate Islamic state.