Strengthening governance mechanism of tourist destinations
*Need to strengthen Tourism Development Authorities
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, June 8: A high-level committee constituted by the Government of Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to devise a holistic framework for strengthening governance mechanism at selected tourist destinations has not yet submitted its recommendations even five months after the lapse of its mandated 45-days deadline.
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The General Administration Department Vide Government Order No.1984 dated November 26, 2024 constituted a high-level committee for preparing and suggesting a holistic framework for strengthening the governance mechanism of selected tourist destinations in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir.
The committee comprising senior officers from the Departments of Finance, Housing and Urban Development, Tourism, Planning, Development and Monitoring, Revenue, Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs and representative of the Department of Forest, Ecology and Environment (not below the rank of Additional Secretary) was mandated to submit its report within a period of 45 days—by January 10, 2025.
“The committee has not only missed the deadline of 45 days, but even five months after the lapse of the timeframe, the recommendations remain pending”, official sources told EXCELSIOR while wishing anonymity, adding “the committee held some meetings over the past few months but framework has yet not been finalized and the delay has raised concerns among the stakeholders particularly given the critical importance of tourism to the economy of the Union Territory”.
When asked, sources expressed inability to give any specific time-frame for completion of task by the committee of officers and said, “some more deliberations and consultations are required to be held to give final shape to the framework”. They, however, admitted the dire need of strengthening the governance mechanism of tourist destinations in the Union Territory as early as possible.
“The Government is expected to take note of the delay and may seek a revised timeline for the report’s completion to ensure that tourism reforms are not stalled anymore”, sources further said and emphasized the need to make the Tourism Development Authorities more meaningful by enhancing their operational efficiency and resource base.
They further said, “Tourism Development Authorities are required to be empowered by devolution of resources so that they can generate revenue from their assets. Moreover, these authorities should have better control and management over the crucial assets after proper demarcation of land under their jurisdiction”. Further, many Tourism Development Authorities currently lack the adequate manpower needed to assert their authority and manage tourism infrastructure effectively within their designated areas.
It is pertinent to mention here that directions have already been given for formulation of Master Plan of each Tourism Development Authority to ensure systematic and well-planned tourism development.
Stating that high-level committee’s recommendations are crucial to address all these issues, sources said that committee, while preparing the empowered framework, is required to keep in consideration the challenges/issues from past learning, financially viable governance structures, balancing the developmental needs with ecological sustainability and carrying capacity of ecosystem.
Moreover, the mandate of the committee is to understand the best practices/success from across India/world and localizing those practices, limiting the role of Government to basic/essential infrastructural requirements for supporting development while facilitating private developers subject to strict, fair and transparent enforcement/regulation and an empowered organization with in-built check and balance mechanism.
It may be recalled that last year a team of World Bank, while agreeing to provide its support as a knowledge partner for development of tourist destinations, had emphasized to have overall strategic vision for development of tourism and to develop Tourism Destination Spatial Plans for organized development. The team had also stressed on working on sustainable indictors with regard to putting in place facilities for better upkeep of tourist resorts.
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