DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, TOURISM AND CULTURE

Transcription

1 DEPARTMENT-RELATED PARLIAMENTARY STANDING COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORT, TOURISM AND CULTURE Two Hundred Thirty Second Report on Demands for Grants ( ) of Ministry of Tourism The Two Hundred Thirty Second Report of the Department-related Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture on the 'Demands for Grants ( ) of Ministry of Tourism' was presented to both the Houses of Parliament on the 29 th April, The Committee is chaired by Dr. Kanwar Deep Singh, M.P. The major recommendations/observations of the Committee are as under:- 1. The Committee observed that even though the total outlay for the 12 th Five Year Plan was Rs crore, the annual budgetary allocations remained far from the proportionate allocation required as per the total outlay. (Para: 14 of the Report) 2. The Committee also observed that almost 57% reduction were made in the RE allocation during The Committee found that such a variation/shortfall in the allocation and expenditure does not augur well for a sustained tourism development in the country. The Committee is afraid that if this trend continues, the Ministry of Tourism cannot achieve the desired level of development of tourist infrastructure, training and skill development, promotion of publicity in tourism sector, by the end of the 12 th Five Year Plan period. (Para: 16 of the Report) 3. The Committee further observed that the Secretary Tourism himself has admitted that allocating such a large amount of funds to Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD when they were launched should have been avoided.. The Committee was of the view that the Ministry of Tourism should have anticipated the basic things relating to implementation of the scheme and utilization of the grants while allocating funds to Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD Schemes during (Para: 24 of the Report) 4. The Committee recommended that the back log in the previous year s schemes should be met this year by planning properly for making judicious spending of the grants. (Para: 30 of the Report) 5. The Committee further observed that Promotion and Publicity need more emphasis from the Ministry of Tourism as much of the allocation under this head remained

2 unspent due to lack of viable projects. The Ministry should keep this matter in mind while organizing projects under this head. (Para: 32 of the Report) 6. The Committee recommended that projects under Buddhist Circuit need to be given special focus for the development of places of Buddhist importance, which have been in a state of neglect all these years. The Committee also recommended that the Buddhist places be provided with proper road/rail and air connectivity along with other tourist infrastructure of international standards including quality accommodation and food as there is a lot of scope for attracting foreign tourists every year thereby boosting up our foreign exchange earnings and employment generation in the tourism and allied sectors.. (Para: 47 of the Report) 7. The Committee observed that there are limitations in undertaking coastal circuits by the State/UT Governments due to CRZ norms. The Committee recommended that only such projects may be proposed which can be regulated under the CRZ norms and would not make any harm to the coastal environment. (Para: 48 of the Report) 8. The Committee further recommended that under the Swadesh Darshan, all the World Heritage Sites in the Country should have a separate heritage circuit. (Para: 49 of the Report) 9. The Committee also recommended that the Ramayan Circuit may be included in the spiritual circuits and Ayodhya and major places associated with Ramayan may be included in it. 2 (Para: 52 of the Report) 10. The Committee further observed that the Swadesh Darshan Scheme was allocated huge funds mainly by curtailing allocation meant for the PIDDC Scheme without putting necessary arrangements for its quick implementation. As a result, the new scheme remained only on papers. Actually, stopping sanction for this scheme abruptly by the Centre created utter confusion not only among the State Governments but in Ministry of Tourism also. All of them for good part of remained clueless about what to be done at this stage especially of the ongoing schemes under PIDDC in which considerable amount had already been spent. The Ministry of Tourism could not find a clear cut solution at this stage also on that issue as the Committee could understand that negotiations are still continuing with the Ministry of Finance to clear the ambiguities. (Para: 67 of the Report) 11. The Committee also observed that the meager allocation of Rs.20 crore, earmarked for PIDDC during the period is highly insufficient at a stage where the committed liability alone of the States is Rs crore. Therefore, Committee recommended that sufficient funds for completing these schemes may be allocated to meet the requirements under the ongoing PIDDC projects of 34 States/ UTs. (Para: 68 of the Report) 12. The Committee observed that as in the case of Domestic Campaign, the Ministry has not made any concrete plan for the activities to be undertaken on the overseas promotion.

3 Domestic campaign being basic to tourism promotion in the country, for encouraging domestic tourists, has not received required attention. India still has vast potential of domestic tourist market which, the Committee feels need to be given top priority. (Para: 84 of the Report) 13. The Committee noted the various activities undertaken by the Ministry of Tourism under the Swachh Bharat Mission and feels that the mission has lost its momentum though the drive was started with great enthusiasm. The general public did not give up their habit of littering in public places and throwing garbage here and there at the tourist places. The Committee, therefore, recommends that creating awareness as well as imposing mild penalties to the offenders need to be considered, so as to make the drive a success. (Para: 91 of the Report) 14. Periodic inspection for cleanliness and weeding out old food items at the hotel establishments under ITDC and training institutions to find out usage of expired food articles unhygienic surrounding, presence of rodents and irresponsible garbage disposal etc. could be made. Besides, regular health check up also should be made of the people working in these hotels as well as all the accredited hotels in the country. The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Tourism in coordination with the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare may take the necessary actions in this regard with the help of concerned regulatory agencies. (Para: 94 of the Report) 15. In view of the higher demand of tourism related professionals in the country, the Committee recommended that in addition to the existing training institutes like IHMs, FCIs, IITTM and NCHMCT the Ministry should extend financials supports to various ITIs, Polytechnics, Vocational Institutes, Governments Colleges and Universities for conducting Tourism Studies both in private and public sector after assessing their standard, infrastructure, etc. (Para: 107 of the Report) 16. The Committee observed that ASI is not agreeable to the State Government and UT Administrations selecting and issuing licenses to Local guides to work in the ASI monuments. According to ASI, Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Rules, 1959 do not permit State Governments and UT Administrations to issue licenses to Guides to work at ASI monuments. The Committee recommended that Ministry of Tourism may take up the matter with the Ministry of Culture to see that if the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Rules, 1959 can be suitably amended under the Parent Act to enable the entry of the State selected guides also in the ASI monuments. (Para: 116 of the Report) 17. In view of overwhelming response to e-tourist visa, the Committee recommended that the restrictions on e-tourist visa such as not more than 30 days stay and only two times in a calendar year should be relaxed or removed. The Committee further recommended that allowing up to 60 days of stay for e-tourist visa holders also be considered. They should be given multiple entry visas. E-tourist visas may also be allowed 3

4 for medical tourists, business tourists and MICE. Ministry of Tourism may take up this matter with the concerned Ministries for a suitable modification of the norms. (Para: 130 of the Report) 18. The Committee further noted that apart from 16 Airports in the country many of our major ports are also receiving foreign tourists in a considerable number. The Committee recommended that e-tourists visa facility should be extended to more tourists who wish to visit India through the Sea route also. The Committee noted that at present the immigration counters at the major ports are insufficient to handle the passengers calling the ports, sea and land as a result thereof they have to wait in long queues to get them verified. The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Tourism should take up this matter with MEA and MHA so that the tourists may not face any kind of problems to come to India for further visits. (Para: 131 of the Report) 19. The Committee noted that Ayurveda is one of the best practiced medical system in length and breadth of the country. Aside from Kerala, other States also have the potential to become Ayurveda centres of the world, if promoted properly. Kerala being one of the best tourism destinations, has proved that other regions also can be developed similar way. Therefore, the Committee recommended that the Government of India should give thrust to the Ayurveda Tourism in the country with special focus on Kerala in its publicity and campaigns through Market Development Assistance. (Para: 139 of the Report) 20. In many places, the Committee observed that (eg. Munnar) in the name of Tourism development, natural habitats are disturbed and concrete building have come up. This type of uncontrolled exploitation of natural heritage for tourism development will gradually destroy ecological balance. The Committee recommended that in the case of hotels, the sewage treatment should be made compulsory because the hotel waste is posing a serious threat to nature and water bodies. The Committee observed that tourism should be based on scientific carrying capacity and sustainability principles. (Para: 144 of the Report) 21. The Committee during the previous year also recommended for strict compliance by the house boat operators in Kashmir and Kerala not to make any damage to the natural status of the lakes. However, Committee has learnt that the pollution level of Vembanad lake (Kerala) is growing at an alarming pace due to the non adherence of norms by the house boat operators. The Committee views that this must be taken very seriously so that the toilet waste materials should not be dumped into the Vembanad Lake and there should be some control over the water and air pollution by House Boats. (Para: 145 of the Report) 22. The Committee noticed that a large chunk of the energy needs of the houseboats could be met by introducing Solar Panels over the roof of the house boats. This may reduce the consumption of fuels and thereby a large portion of the air pollution and oil pollution of the lake. The Committee recommended that Government should make a prototype of such a house boat on a trial basis (the ITDC or KTDC may take the initiative) so that the success of it may be analyzed and in a phased manner all the house boats in Kerala should run using Solar energy. (Para: 146 of the Report) 4

5 23. The Committee also noticed that the airfares are exorbitant during the peak tourist seasons which are also causing hindrance to passenger flow in the country. The Committee recommends that Ministry of Tourism may take up the matter in the Inter Ministerial Coordination Committee for Tourism Sector in which the Ministry of Civil Aviation is also a member. (Para: 158 of the Report) 24. The Committee recommends that in view of the high inflow of tourists from middle east, especially during the summer holidays, there should be more flights to accommodate the passenger rush. The Committee also recommended that, in view of the predatory charges levied by the airlines during rush times, the Government should fix an upper limit especially in the economy class of airfares so that there should not be unhealthy practice of raising fares exorbitantly by the airliners. (Para: 159 of the Report) 25. The Committee came to know that about 200 small scale airports /air strips exist in the country which if renovated, can be utilized as full -fledged airport for the operation of small and medium range aircrafts. The Committee observed that making use of these airports may be a major milestone in boosting tourism in the country. (Para: 161 of the Report) 26. The Committee observed that in most of the tourist places, lack of signage and properly displayed information boards as regards vehicle parking, information office, parking charges, toilet facilities; bus bay etc. are a major drawback while dealing with tourists. The Committee recommended that the Ministry of Tourism may make it sure that State Governments are properly installing such signboards in all the important tourist places. Similarly the taxi rates connecting important nearby places also need to be displayed as in many cases, the taxi operators are fleecing the tourists. (Para: 187 of the Report) 27. To conclude, the Committee has noted that there is absence of proper planning by the Ministry to utilize the funds they have already earmarked to different schemes. As a result, schemes such as the Domestic Campaign, the overseas Campaign; etc. could not commence immediately at the initial months of the financial year. The PIDDC Scheme is totally in a hopeless situation because the Ministry of Finance is not yet ready to allocate sufficient funds to complete the ongoing projects. The Ministry of Tourism requires an immediate Government decision in this regard otherwise all the tax payers money spent in 34 States/UTs in various PIDDC projects will be wasted and tourism development in all these States may be affected. (Para: 188 of the Report) The full report is available on the website of Rajya Sabha Committees Department related RS Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture- Reports) 5