New power of attorney rule to let Keralites abroad start homestays in state

KOCHI: Until now, an archaic rule had prevented women from starting a homestay business in their houses, which were owned by their husbands who either worked abroad or in other states. But, soon that will change. Bringing hope to many homemakers who can earn a livelihood from the comfort of their home, a meeting of high-level officials of the Local Self-government Department, under the chairmanship of the director of tourism, Shikha Surendran, has decided to permit a wife or a husband to run a homestay on the basis of the power of attorney signed by their respective spouses. Speaking to TNIE, M P Sivadathan, president of the Kerala Homestay and Tourism Society (K-HATS), said that in the past, if a person wanted to start a homestay, they couldnt do so simply because the person under whose name the house was registered worked abroad or in another state. It has been a long-standing demand of K-HATS that an opportunity should be provided to the wife or husband to start a homestay if they have the necessary power of attorney from their spouses, who own the house. So we had approached the Tourism Department with the request, he said. It is welcome that the meeting of the high-level officials decided upon our request and will be issuing a government order in this regard, he added. Another issue K-HATS had raised was the difficulty of getting a licence for a serviced villa from some LSGDs in the state. Currently, if an application is made through K-Smart, as per the rule licence should be given for serviced villas. But some panchayat and municipality secretaries are creating issues. They are holding back the licenses, making flimsy excuses. More than a hundred applicants are waiting to get licenses for serviced villas even after completing all the formalities, said Sivadathan. At the meeting, the local self-government officials agreed to issue a new GO in this regard. At the meeting, it was decided to immediately issue a special order directing the panchayats to issue certificates to those who have applied for a license to run serviced villas. It has also been decided to It has been decided to send the information regarding the homestays and serviced villas that have obtained the Tourism Departments c; classification to the LSGDs. During the meeting, the tourism director informed that no property without the Tourism Departments classification should conduct business in the name of homestay, he added.