Jharkhand eyes a place on global tourism map

The Jharkhand government will be unveiling a tourism policy to tap the rich potential that it has been endowed with.

"The state would be announcing a tourism policy on September 27 on the occasion of the World Tourism Day to promote the sector," Jharkhand's Minister for Tourism, Revenue and Land Reforms Amar Kumar Bauri said at the Business Standard Jharkhand Round Table panel discussion organised here on Tuesday. In the past 14 years, the state has failed to design a policy and direction to put Jharkhand on the road to development, he added.

Referring to the state's tourism potential, the minister said the state would create a niche in the world tourism map in the next five years. "Jharkhand could be a new J&K (Jammu & Kashmir) in terms of tourism," he said.

Bauri ruled out law and order problem was a stumbling block in the promotion of tourism in the state, and said negative publicity should stop to make the state a prosperous one.

Experts on the panel elaborated on the road map that was required for the overall development of the state that had been bestowed with rich mineral resources. They called for a holistic approach in dealing with the land issue and subsequent challenges.

Ramesh Sharan, head of the department in economics with Ranchi University, asserted land acquisition was a major constraint for the development in the state. "The state must have a land policy," he said, adding that the abundant waste land could be developed for industrial use. Pointing out the regional inequality in terms of development and growth in the state, Sharan said, the government should go back to the report of committee on Jharkhand policy 1990 that underlined a balanced development plan.

"The pattern of investment must also change... Industry cannot run as an enclave as it should adopt an integrated plan," he said in support of his observation that industry had only been developing its peripheral areas, while pockets that are 10-km away from the facility remained under-developed. This had created a negative image of industry among the native people, he added. Staying on the land issue, Ashok Gutgutia, vice-chairman and managing director of Burnpur Cement, said that the state should make a robust policy of land acquisition. He added the state government should promote the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to overcome the environmental degradation and peripheral development. "Unless and until there is mass development, the issue will not be addressed," he said. But it seemed land was not the only challenge to industry in the state.

Pawan Sharma, secretary-general, Federation of Jharkhand Chamber of Commerce and Industry, drew attention towards the lack of basic infrastructure in the state. "How can the state attract the investor (without basic facilities)?" he asked.