The government will do everything to promote Kerala’s tourism potential but the state government too has a role to play in this, the parliament was informed Tuesday. “This year, we have so far sanctioned seven of the 22 projects that the state government has proposed. Some festivals and fairs have not been sanctioned as (last year’s) completion certificates have not been received,” Tourism Minister Ambika Soni said during question hour in the Rajya Sabha.
“As soon as these certificates are received, more projects will be sanctioned,” she added.
“Is this assistance commensurate with Kerala’s potential?” countered Congress MP P.J. Kurien while raising a supplementary.
“We would like to give more money but our budget is so small. In spite of that, half of our budget goes in assistance to the states,” Soni replied, even as Finance Minister P. Chidambaram joined in the laughter that erupted in the house.
This prompted Jaya Bachchan (Samajwadi Party) to remark that while Kerala was one of India’s greenest states, political considerations - it is ruled by the Left parties - were coming in the way of it being given more money for promoting tourism.
“You have made an accusation against me. If you get the Kerala chief minister to say the same thing, I am prepared to apologise in this house,” Soni retorted.
“Political considerations are not an issue,” she maintained, adding that the ministry invariably took a holistic view of every state.
This did not satisfy Bachchan and her party colleague Amar Singh, who demanded that Soni apologise for her remarks.
As the din continued, Chairman Mohammad Hamid Ansari remarked in exasperation: “Please resist the temptation of interfering”.
Giving figures, Soni said that during the eighth and ninth Five Year Plans, Kerala had been sanctioned Rs.42.75 crores (Rs.427.5 million) for 103 programmes. During the 10th Plan, the state had been sanctioned Rs.138 crore (Rs.1.38 billion) for 61 projects.
“In 2007-08, we have sanctioned seven projects and Rs.24 crores 75 lakhs (Rs.247.5 million). I would also like to point out that Kerala had only one institute of hotel management. We have sanctioned Rs.10 crore (Rs.100 million) for a second institute,” Soni pointed out.
Then Bachchan, Amar Singh and other Samajwadi Party members again started shouting slogans. Ansari tried to pacify them but to no avail and eventually stood up.
“I don’t know if technology exists whereby honourable members who shout at each other can understand what is being said. Please let the house function,” he said - and this served to restore order.
The Minister of Tourism and Culture Smt. Ambika Soni informed the Rajya Sabha today that to increase the flow of foreign tourists to India from China, the Government has approved the opening of India Tourism Office in Beijing.
In a written reply she said, providing of accommodation to tourists is primarily a private sector activity However, to facilitate augmentation of budget category accommodation for tourists, the Government has asked all the State/UT Governments and other land owning agencies including Indian Railways to allocate land for building hotels, especially in the budget category. They have also been advised to follow investor-friendly land policies, adopt single window approach for promoting hotel projects, allot sites on revenue sharing basis, grant extra FAR/FSI for hotels, permit extra commercial usage in the hotels etc. so that budget hotels are promoted. Further, in order to increase the number of rooms in the budget category, Ministry of Tourism has floated schemes for the approval of Guest Houses and Incredible India Bed & Breakfast Establishments.
She said, the number of Chinese tourist arrivals to Goa at present is negligible.
Smt. Soni said, development and promotion of tourism is primarily the responsibility of the State/UT Governments. However, the Government plays the role of a facilitator and catalyst to promote tourism in different parts of the country, including Goa. The activities undertaken by the Government include providing financial assistance to State/ UT Governments for tourism-related projects, co-ordination with various Central Ministries, undertaking centralized media campaigns, participation in fairs and exhibitions, printing and distributing brochures, etc.
The Minister of Tourism and Culture Smt. Ambika Soni has said that Government is considering to grant visas on arrival to promote tourism. However, at present, Ministry of Home Affairs has not agreed to the proposal regarding Visa–on–arrival scheme due to the prevalent security scenario.
In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today she said, Indian Missions abroad including those in Western cities grant visas expeditiously in keeping with the relevant norms. Visas are granted on the same day or the next day of the receipt of application except in the case of applications which require prior approval of the Government.
The Minister said, at present 24 Missions / Posts have already started outsourcing of collection of visa application forms. Tourists intending to visit India are provided prompt and courteous services when they visit Indian Missions/ Posts abroad for seeking Indian visas.
A major aquarium is coming to the world famous Dal Lake in the summer capital Srinagar in Kashmir.The aquarium will be located on the banks of the famed Dal Lake and at the foot of Shankaracharya hilltop at Gagribal in the summer capital. The aquarium will have a 200 meter long tunnel with aqua caves and house about 200 species of ornamental fish. It will be a centrally heated building to withstand extreme low temperature during winter.
It will be the second aquarium in Kashmir after the Bagh-i-Bahu aquarium in the winter capital. The aquarium draws thousands of enthusiastic visitors daily.
The Chief Minister of Kashmir, Ghulam Nabi Azad visited the proposed site of the aquarium on Tuesday and asked officials to go ahead with the project. He said that the project will add to the tourist attractions in the summer capital. “At present, there is a small aquarium and awareness centre at Gagribal which will be extended and developed into a major aquarium to attract tourists from India and the world,” he added.
Kashmir officials are expecting a record number of tourists in violence-hit Kashmir this year.A tourism official told NewsBlaze on condition of anonymity that they are expecting a record number of tourists in Kashmir this year. “The situation has improved considerably in Kashmir as the militant violence is showing a downward trend. We are hopeful that the record number of Indian and foreign tourists will visit Kashmir this year to enjoy Kashmir’s picturesque surroundings,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention here that 500,000 Indian and foreign tourists had visited violence-hit Kashmir last year.
The authorities are hopeful that about 700,000 Indian and foreign tourists will visit Kashmir in 2008.
“Under a well thought out strategy, we don’t resort to media hype,” said the tourism official.
