Maharashtra govt to lease out 146 guest houses near dams

The water department of Maharashtra is all set to lease out 146 of its guest houses, with some 2,000 rooms near dams. The state government will float tenders in about a week regarding the same. It is proposing to lease out the guest houses for 10 years, with an annual hike of 10 per cent in rent.

The guest houses were so far available only to senior government officials and political leaders. The most sought after dam and reservoir locations are Panshet near Pune, Pench near Nagpur, Bhatsa on the Mumbai-Nashik highway, Bhandardara near Nashik, Ujani in Solapur, Jaikwadi in Aurangabad, Kilari in Sindhudurg, Uppar Wardha in Amravati and Koyna in Satara. The water department guest houses offers breath-taking views of the waterfalls and the wildlife.

As a pilot project, the department had earlier leased out one of its guest houses in Nashik district last year for an annual rent of Rs 30 lakh.