A cottage in Shillong. A Telegraph picture

Shillong, Feb. 7: If you have ever longed to stay in the cosy Assam-type cottages that dot Meghalaya’s green hills and experience the local ambience, your wish may soon come true.

The state tourism department has come up with a scheme that will enable tourists to stay in private cottages as paying guests.

The department’s director, T. Dkhar, said the concept would open up opportunities for tourists “to stay with a local family, experience the local way of life and discover our rich culture and cuisine. “The interest is more on learning about the tradition and heritage of a state and what better way than staying with a local family and getting to know it first hand.”

Dkhar said the department would start the scheme very soon with support from the India Tourism Development Corporation.

The proposal to launch the paying guest scheme to attract domestic and foreign tourists was mooted in 2001. Dkhar hopes to give it shape before the end of this year.

The scheme envisages accommodation in suitable localities all over the state with easy accessibility to transport.

Senior officials of the tourism department said structures would be set up to suit the local environment and guests’ needs.

“We may not have 10 rooms as is normally required of a resort-type accommodation, but we will have rooms of suitable sizes with attached bathrooms,” Dkhar said.

The government is encouraging local residents to register themselves with the tourism department. It has made arrangements to provide soft loans and subsidies for renovation of properties, which is two-thirds of the capital cost. A maximum of Rs 1 lakh will be provided under the paying guest scheme.

The government has also agreed to waive local, sales and luxury taxes as the paying guest homes would only provide bed-and-breakfast and clean toilets, tourism department officials said. The guests would have the liberty of cooking their own meals or eating in nearby restaurants.

The scheme is expected to set the trend for “real time tourism” and pave the way for development of the state tourism sector into an industry.

Deborah Marak, the chairperson of Meghalaya Tourism Development Corporation and former tourism minister, sees the scheme as the path to economic development.