Trekking Traction Centre Home-stay Grant Scheme (Uttarakhand)
Uttarakhand state government scheme
Trekking Traction Centre Home-stay Grant Scheme gives villagers within 2 km of a notified trekking traction centre in Uttarakhand a grant of Rs 60,000 per room to build a room with toilet, or Rs 25,000 per room to repair one, for up to 6 rooms. Started in 2020, it needs no bank loan. Apply to the District Tourism Development Officer.
What is the Trekking Traction Centre Home-stay Grant Scheme?
Trekking Traction Centre Home-stay Grant Scheme is a grant programme of the Department of Tourism, Government of Uttarakhand, begun in 2020, that pays villagers along the state's trekking routes to build or repair rooms for tourists. The scheme is often written locally as the Trekking Traction Centre Home Stay Anudan Yojana.
The design is deliberately narrow and geographic. The Tourism Department identifies trekking traction centres; staging points on established trek routes, and the scheme then benefits villages falling within a 2 kilometre radius of such a centre. Villages inside urban areas are excluded; the benefit applies only to villages that are separate from urban areas. Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, Chamoli and Bageshwar are among the districts where the earliest villages were taken up, and the programme started at Chopta, near the Tungnath temple.
The purpose is straightforward. Trekkers on the Dodital, Tungnath and similar routes need beds and clean toilets; hill villages on those routes need cash income and a reason for young people not to migrate. The scheme pays for the rooms and lets the family run the homestay.
How much grant does the scheme give?
| What you are doing | Grant | Limit |
|---|---|---|
| Constructing a room with a toilet on the identified route | Rs 60,000 per room | Up to 6 rooms |
| Repairing an existing building | Rs 25,000 per room | Up to 6 rooms |
The maximum on the construction side therefore works out to Rs 3,60,000 for six rooms. The grant is a direct payment into the beneficiary's account after the work is inspected; not a subsidy on a loan.
That last point is the scheme's distinguishing feature. The Tourism Department also runs the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Griha Awas (Home Stay) Vikas Yojana, under which a homestay builder in a hill area gets 50 percent capital subsidy up to Rs 15 lakh and interest subsidy up to Rs 1.50 lakh over five years, and 25 percent up to Rs 7.5 lakh in the plains; but only against a bank loan, and only with a 12.5 percent beneficiary contribution. Under the Trekking Traction Centre scheme, by contrast, there is no obligation to take a loan at all. For a family that cannot service a term loan, this is the accessible option.
Who is eligible for the Trekking Traction Centre Home-stay Grant?
You can apply if:
- Your village falls within a 2 km radius of a trekking traction centre identified by the Tourism Department, and the village has been notified under the scheme.
- The village is separate from an urban area. Urban locations are outside the scheme.
- You are an original resident of the village near the traction centre.
- You live, or will live, in the proposed homestay along with your family. This is a family-run homestay scheme, not a commercial lodge scheme.
- Your homestay is registered with the department, or you will get it registered once the new rooms are built.
You cannot apply, or you are not eligible, if:
- Your village is outside the 2 km radius of a notified trekking traction centre, or has not been notified by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board.
- Your property is in an urban area.
- You are not an original resident of the village concerned.
- You do not intend to live in the property with your family — an absentee owner running a commercial guest house does not fit the scheme's eligibility.
- You are claiming for more than 6 rooms. The grant is capped at six.
- The building will not be registered as a homestay with the department.
Traditional hill-style construction is not an eligibility bar, but it is a preference: buildings constructed or developed in the traditional hill style are given priority.
What documents are required?
| Document | Mandatory | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Prescribed application form | Yes | From the DTDO office or a Tourist Welcome Centre |
| Date of birth / age certificate | Yes | Attached with the form |
| Educational qualification certificate | Yes | Attached with the form |
| Uttarakhand permanent residence certificate | Yes | Applicant must be an original resident of the state |
| Certificate of belonging to that area | Yes | Proves residence in the village near the traction centre |
| Land / building ownership papers | Yes | For the plot or house where rooms are built or repaired |
| SC / ST / OBC / ex-servicemen certificate | No | Only if applicable |
How to apply for the Trekking Traction Centre Home-stay Grant
- Confirm your village is notified. Ask the District Tourism Development Officer whether your village falls within 2 km of an identified trekking traction centre and has been notified by the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board.
- Collect the prescribed application form from the District Tourism Development Officer's office or from a Tourist Welcome Centre (Paryatan Swagat Kendra).
- Attach the documents; date of birth or age certificate, educational qualification certificate, SC/ST/OBC or ex-servicemen certificate if applicable, Uttarakhand permanent residence certificate, a certificate that you belong to that area, and the land or building papers.
- Submit the application at the District Tourism Development Officer's office or at the Tourist Welcome Centre.
- Attend the interview. After submission, a committee constituted under the chairmanship of the District Magistrate calls the applicant for an interview, and applicants found suitable are selected.
- Carry out the construction or repair of the rooms, with the toilet, as approved.
- Get the work inspected. A technical committee constituted by the district inspects and examines the completed work.
- Receive the grant. Once the work is found correct, and on the District Magistrate's recommendation, the department pays the amount for building or repairing the homestay into the concerned person's account.
- Register the homestay with the department, if it is newly built, so that it appears on the departmental homestay list and guests can find it.
How does a village get notified under the scheme?
Village identification runs on two tracks, and it is worth knowing both because a village that is eligible on the map is not eligible until it is notified.
- Automatic identification. A committee chaired by the District Magistrate, in which the District Tourism Development Officer is member secretary, identifies the qualifying villages itself.
- On a proposal from below. If a village has come up within the 2 km radius of a trekking route, the Gram Pradhan, Block Pramukh or MLA sends a letter or proposal to the department. The tourism officer then investigates, and during that inquiry a meeting is held under the District Magistrate's chairmanship to determine which villages will be eligible for that trekking traction route. The minutes and the proposal are sent to the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, which verifies the villages and, if found correct, notifies them.
If your village is on a trek route but not yet covered, the practical step is to get the Gram Pradhan to send that proposal, rather than to file an individual application that has nowhere to go.
What has the scheme achieved so far?
The Tourism Department initially selected 29 villages for the scheme, in districts including Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, Chamoli and Bageshwar, starting at Chopta near Tungnath, with early beneficiaries in Agora and Dasna villages on the Dodital trek route. Reported progress since then puts the figure at 584 beneficiaries across 115 villages, with 18 trekking centres developed, mainly in Tehri, Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Pithoragarh. The Chief Minister has publicly asked for the scheme's implementation to be fast-tracked so that more hill families are drawn into the homestay model.
Why applications get held up
- Village not notified under the scheme, even though it looks close to a trek route on the map.
- Property in an urban area, which is outside the scheme's scope.
- Applicant not an original resident of the village concerned.
- Incomplete document file, the area-belonging certificate and the land or building papers are the two most often missing.
- Work not matching the sanction at the technical committee's inspection.
- Homestay not registered with the department after construction.
Help and contacts
- Department of Tourism, Uttarakhand: Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Paryatan Bhawan, near ONGC Helipad, Garhi Cantt, Dehradun; telephone 0135-2559898; email tourismkarmik[at]gmail[dot]com
- District Tourism Development Officer of your district. The office that issues the form, receives the application and arranges the interview
- Tourist Welcome Centre (Paryatan Swagat Kendra). An alternative counter to collect and submit the form
- Homestay registration: homestay.uttarakhandtourism.gov.in, and uttarakhandtourism.gov.in under Trade → Homestay Registration
- CM helpline: 1905
The application form is free and the grant is paid directly into the beneficiary's bank account after inspection. No agent can arrange selection; the interview before the District Magistrate's committee is the decision point.
Documents required
Frequently asked questions
How much grant does the Trekking Traction Centre Home-stay Scheme give?
The scheme provides Rs 60,000 per room for constructing a room with a toilet on an identified trekking route, and Rs 25,000 per room where an existing building is being repaired. The grant is available for a maximum of 6 rooms.
Which villages are covered?
Only villages falling within a 2 km radius of a trekking traction centre identified by the Tourism Department, and only villages that are separate from urban areas. The scheme began in 2020.
Do I have to take a bank loan?
No. The scheme documentation states plainly that there is no obligation to take a loan. This is the main difference from the Deen Dayal Upadhyay Griha Awas (Home Stay) Vikas Yojana, where the subsidy is given only against a bank loan.
Who can apply?
An original resident of a village near the notified traction centre, who lives or will live in the proposed homestay along with the family. The homestay must be registered with the department, or registered once newly built.
Where do I submit the application?
At the District Tourism Development Officer's office or at a Tourist Welcome Centre. The prescribed form is also collected from the same places.
How is the selection done?
A committee chaired by the District Magistrate calls the applicant for an interview, and applicants found suitable in the interview are selected. After the work is completed a district technical committee inspects it, and the grant is paid into the person's account on the District Magistrate's recommendation.
How does a village get added to the scheme?
A committee chaired by the District Magistrate, with the District Tourism Development Officer as member secretary, identifies villages. If a village has developed within 2 km of a trekking route, the Gram Pradhan, Block Pramukh or MLA sends a letter or proposal to the department; the tourism officer investigates, a meeting under the District Magistrate decides eligibility, and the proposal goes to the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, which verifies and notifies the villages.
What kind of construction gets preference?
Buildings constructed or developed in the traditional hill style are given preference, so that homestays along trekking routes keep the local architectural character.
How many villages and beneficiaries has the scheme covered so far?
The Tourism Department initially selected 29 villages for the scheme, including in Uttarkashi, Pithoragarh, Chamoli and Bageshwar districts, starting at Chopta near Tungnath. Reported progress since then puts the figure at 584 beneficiaries across 115 villages, with 18 trekking centres developed, mainly in Tehri, Uttarkashi, Chamoli and Pithoragarh.
Why do applications get rejected or held up?
Common reasons include the village not being notified under the scheme even though it looks close to a trek route, the property being in an urban area, the applicant not being an original resident of the village, an incomplete document file (the area-belonging certificate and land or building papers are most often missing), work not matching the sanction at inspection, or the homestay not being registered with the department after construction.
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