More than half a dozen places identified for caravan parks in Maharashtra

More than half a dozen picturesque locations like the Dhom dam and Jawali mountain ranges in Satara, Masai plateau on Kolhapur, Mulshi dam in Pune, areas around Daulatabad and Antur forts in Aurangabad, Naldurg fort in Osmanabad and Sahastrakund waterfall in Nanded have been zeroed in for development of caravan parks in Maharashtra.

The Maharashtra government has cleared a policy for caravan tourism and caravan parks – and scouting of locations is underway.

The Directorate of Tourism is working on the comprehensive project – that aims to give an addition to the existing tourism facilities.

“Caravans can be parked at various tourist spots like forest buffer zones, near the footsteps of forts, hill stations, in the vicinity of dams, caves, seashores and nearby highways,” said Ravi Pawar, assistant director, development, Directorate of Tourism.

About the infrastructure development, he said: “In an area of 1 hectare land, maximum 20 parking bays can be created- one parking bay for each Caravan. This means 20 caravans can be parked on a parking area of 1 hectare.”

The state government has allowed use of different sets of caravans – single-axle and twin-axle caravans, tent caravan, folding caravan, camper trailer.

About the vehicles in operation, Pawar said: “Motohom is based in Vasai and has been operating across Maharashtra. They have 4-5 vehicles comprising RVs which are equipped with kitchen, toilet, terrace, etc., mid-size caravans and Camper vans. They plan to launch Tempo Traveller which will cater 6-7 people excluding the driver. They have been receiving good responses for smaller vans. Typically, couples and small families have been hiring these caravans.”

On the licensing, he said that the caravans must be registered with the Directorate of Tourism and must be compliant with the Transport Department’s rules and regulations.

“Caravan can be parked at forest buffer zones, near the footsteps of fort, hill stations and nearby highways. The parking bays will be designed to protect the privacy of tourists and should be compatible with the surrounding area. The tourist convenience centre will be set up near the parking bay where maps of the place will be provided through an information booklet. Waiting room, rest room, travellers guide will be made available,” he said.

Apart from the private lands, the Irrigation department, Forest department, Revenue department, and MTDC will develop their lands into caravan parking bays considering the entire basic infrastructure such as water, electricity, security and safety of the travellers.

“Caravan parks can be entirely privately owned, taken on rent or built through a public-private partnership (PPP),” he said.