Minister says govt to give up to ₹1.5 cr for film shooting in U’khand

DEHRADUN: The state government will provide a subsidy up to ~1.5 crore to film producers for shooting in the state, said state tourism minister Satpal Maharaj while addressing a private event in Mumbai on Sunday.

The minister said, “As per a policy of promoting films in the state, we will not be taking shooting charges from filmmakers and will also give other discounts to them.” The minister added that as per the instructions of the chief minister, the state government would give “Subsidy of ~1.5 crore for a film with a total budget of ~2 crore, provided it is a Hindi film.”

While talking about promoting films and tourism in the state, the minister said that they want people to coordinate with film producers but some protocols are likely to be twisted depending on the demands of the film. The tourism minister hopes to do away with the “culture of creating obstacles” by residents of the state, who are known to protect the environment of the state, at times with their lives.

Reacting to the minister’s comments, environmentalist Ravi Chopra said that politicians of the state should not sell away the state’s treasures for low prices. “It is the constitutional duty of state and local residents to protect and conserve the environment. If the local people put obstacles or object to something then they are just doing their job,” added Chopra.

The Uttarakhand Film Policy states, “Based on merit, films having more than 50% or more outdoor shooting in Uttarakhand will be made tax free,” along with the option of exempting the shooting charges.

Quizzed on the decision of subsidy as a way of luring filmmakers to produce films here, the minister said, “Even neighbouring states like UP gives heavy subsidy to filmmakers.”

› As per a policy of promoting films in the state, we will not be taking shooting charges from filmmakers and will give other discounts to them. SATPAL MAHARAJ, tourism minister