The Rajasthan government has decided to dish out a discount of 50% in the special road tax (SRT) for three years to tourist carriages duly approved by Indian association of tour operators (IATO) and Rajasthan association of tour operators (RATO).

Rajasthan transport commissioner Jagdish Chandra told ET: "This unique discount scheme would not only promote tourism but also increase the number of authorised tour operators in the state. This scheme would cover all the air-conditioned camper vans and conducted tour vehicles with seating capacity of more than 30, including staff members."

According to sources, there are around 50 such vehicles in the state which can be covered under this scheme. "The state earns a total SRT of Rs 1.5 crore per year from these vehicles averaging Rs 3 lakh per vehicle. That means 50 new such vehicles are required to hit the road this year to keep the SRT revenue intact.

The way tourist traffic is increasing in the state, we are quite hopeful that there will be a rise in the number of authorised tour vehicles," an official said.

The transport department has incidentally earned a record revenue of Rs 728 crore till December 2007, which is 110% of the targeted revenue of Rs 661.50 crore and 118 % of the revenue generated last fiscal in the corresponding period. "We are likely to cross the Rs 1,100-crore mark this fiscal as against a target of Rs 1,075 crore," Mr Chandra said.