DAKSHINA KANNADA: Nearly 21 applicants seeking to establish homestay facilities in Dakshina Kannada have been left waiting for over four months due to technical issues with the Karnataka Tourism and Travel Facilitation (KTTF) web portal, which generates the mandatory certificates.
Applicants face delays and financial stress
An applicant from Belthangady taluk, who submitted his homestay registration in early April, said the certificate — usually issued within a month if documents are in order — is still pending. “When I checked with the district office in Mangaluru, I learnt the issue is with the portal. Officials said they would get back to me once the portal is rectified,” he said.
A department of tourism official confirmed that close to 21 applications are stuck due to the portal’s malfunction. “The delay is causing financial distress as many applicants have invested in homestays. We do not have an immediate solution since the issue lies with the central office in Bengaluru,” the official added.
Status of homestay applications in the district
So far, Dakshina Kannada has received 218 applications for homestays. Of these, 132 have been approved and are operational. While 86 applications remain pending, 21 of them are delayed specifically due to the technical issue with the KTTF portal.
Once generated, the certificates are signed by the Deputy Commissioner and serve as the legal permission to operate the facilities.
Department response
Dilip Kumar, deputy director of tourism (in-charge), acknowledged the delay, stating that pending applications have been awaiting clearance for months. KV Rajendra, director of the department of tourism, explained: “The delay is due to technical reasons as we migrate to a new portal. To clear pending applications, a circular will soon be issued directing deputy commissioners, who chair the district tourism committees, to manually process them.”
Officials hope the manual processing directive will address the backlog and enable applicants to start operations without further delays.