NEW DELHI: Aiming at world-class hygiene and sanitation in hotels, resorts and homestays, the Union Ministry of Tourism is set to roll out a rating system for the hospitality sector. The owners and operators of the lodging services will be encouraged to adopt good practices for improved and safe sanitation facilities, faecal sludge management, segregation of solid waste at sources and promotion alternatives to single-use plastic.
The ranking scheme — Swachhata Green Leaf Rating — is expected to enhance awareness and collaborative achievements for common goals in the tourism and hospitality sector, said officials privy to the plan. The rating will be based on compliance with the safe sanitation practices outlined in the guidelines. According to the officials, the objectives are also to prevent pollution in water bodies and keep the environment clean.
“The toilets in hotels and restaurants may be cleaned, but where is that faeces sludge going? Chances are high that sewage is just flowing directly into the nearest rivulet, pond or lake like it normally happens. So, we are trying to bring awareness to how that can be bad for the environment and end up actually ruining the destination, or for that matter, the district,” said the officials.
The rating initiative is in collaboration with the Department of Drinking Water and Sanitation under the Travel for LIFE campaign of NITI Aayog. The state teams of Swachh Bharat Mission-Gramin (SBM-G) and tourism department will organise workshops on the concept, process and the desired outcomes for the stakeholders.
“The thrust is on rural areas now, where hospitality units in terms of home stays, bed and breakfast, small restaurants and tea shops are made aware and they are helped with low cost technologies, which actually get the needful done,” the officials further explained.
The scheme will be introduced in states in different phases and the pilot programme will be launched in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir. The plan is afoot to take up the project in Neil Island of Andaman Islands. “Tourists will have options to select the facility which has Green Leaf Rating — higher rating or the one that doesn’t have a rating at all. We are moving ahead with a premise. Now, people are environmentally conscious these days and they will go for the facility with a higher rating,” added the officials.
At present, there is no incentive offer but the ministry is exploring possibilities to provide subvention in future. “We want banks to give them some interest subventions; a subsidy, or ministry may pay for all those things. We are working this out, but first we want to roll it out and see how it is creating an impact,” the official said.
