From our Correspondent

ITANAGAR, June 19: Tourism Minister Pema Khandu has asserted for strict adherence to the Ministry of Tourism guidelines in respect to tourism related schemes.

While presiding over the two days annual review meeting here at Tourism conference hall, the Minister specifically directed the departmental officers particularly the district tourism officers to see that all new schemes are routed through the District Level Tourism Development Committee headed by the Deputy Commissioners in the district.

“No scheme should be entertained directly by the department which does not follow the laid down guidelines” Pema emphatically said.

This bold step by the department has been initiated in order to decentralize the selection of important schemes for promotion of tourism for revenue generation, official sources informed.

“Prospective schemes and required infrastructures in the designated tourist circuits cannot be prepared sitting in an air-conditioned room without proper field survey”, Pema emphatically said while underscoring the need to route the schemes through the District Level Tourism Development Committee (DLTDC) which has better know how about their respective district. This is indeed in accordance to the laid down guidelines from the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India.

The schemes forwarded by the District Level Tourism Development Committee shall be thoroughly scrutinized by the State Level Monitoring Committee headed by the Secretary Tourism before submitting to the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, revealed Pema.

The much talked State Tourism Policy is soon to hit the stand as the draft tourism policy has been prepared and discussed thoroughly in the meeting. A similar meeting and threadbare discussion is awaited soon with all tourism stakeholders before placing it in the cabinet for final approval of the government.

Under the dynamic leadership of Chief Minister Nabam Tuki who has been enthusiastically promoting tourism on every given occasion and the young and zealous Pema Khandu steering the department, tourism is sure to become a viable industry in the state.

With the vision to make Arunachal a prime and ultimate tourist destination, the efforts of the CM, the minister, Parliamentary Secretary and the entire team of Tourism department is sure to bear fruits in coming days.

The review meeting which had detail discussion on development of tourism was also attended by Tourism Parliamentary Secretary Pasang Dorjee Sona, Secretary Sonam Chombay, Director AK Singh and district officers.