The Gujarat government plans to set up a Special Tourism Region (STR) Development Act on the lines of the Special Investment Region (SIR) Act of 2009. As per a report in Indian Express by Kapil Dave, the Act is aimed at regulating the haphazard development in and around tourism hotspots and develop the high tourism potential areas in a planned manner.

Vipul Mitra, Principal Secretary, Tourism Department affirmed the state government’s plan of coming out with an STR Development Act. He said: “Considering the state government’s huge focus on tourism development in Gujarat, there is a need for planned development of the famous and the possible tourism hotspots. A state level authority will be created under the Act to control activities like pollution, haphazard development and the like.”

Mitra added: “The proposed Act will be like the SIR Act passed by the state government. It will focus on notifying the tourism regions. On the basis of this Act, a specialised General Development Control & Regulation (GDCR) body will be formed for the notified tourism regions. A development authority on the lines of AUDA for Ahmedabad and SUDA for Surat will be set up for every earmarked and notified tourism region. The tourism regions will be developed according to the special Town Planning schemes.”