Union minister pulls up state on tourism and UD projects

Union minister for tourism, housing and urban poverty alleviation Kumari Selja has pulled up the state government for its tardy progress on the implementation of Centre's schemes for tourism and housing for urban poor.

“Of the eight rural tourism projects in Orissa funded by the Centre, six have been non-starters. Only one rural tourism project at Raghurajpur is being implemented while another project has been left midway”, she told reporters here.

She hinted that the Centre may cancel the remaining rural tourism projects in the state if they are not implemented on time.

The state government's proposal to develop Rs 50-crore mega integrated tourism project comprising Koraput, Kandhamal and Gajapati districts of south Orissa has got a setback as the Centre has turned the proposal down.

The proposal did not conform to the guidelines of the Union Ministry of Tourism, she said.

The minister also expressed her discontent over the slow pace of implementation of the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) in the state.

“We still have to go a long way in the implementation of JNNURM in Orissa. Any escalation in expenditure arising out of the delay has to be borne by the state government”, she stated.

Selja reviewed the progress of projects related to tourism and urban housing in the presence of Debi Prasad Mishra, the state tourism minister and Arun Panda, the secretary for housing and urban development department.

The minister came down heavily on the housing and urban development department for non involvement of the locals and not undertaking proper survey for the urban housing projects.

She also took a swipe at the sluggish pace of implementation of the Integrated Housing and Slum Development Programme (IHSDP) in the state.

Out of Rs 99.19 crore already disbursed by the Centre for the scheme, the state has been able to spend only Rs 15.6 crore so far. The Centre has sanctioned Rs 140.35 crore for IHSDP for Orissa. The programme envisages building 12,317 dwelling units in 28 towns across the state.

On tourism development, she said, “Orissa has tremendous potential but the state government has to gear up for developing infrastructure for tourism projects. The state needs to explore new tourist spots and give thrust on aggressive marketing of the tourism destinations.”

Selja later called on chief minister, Naveen Patnaik at the state secretariat. She assured that the Government of India is ready to provide financial assistance to the state government on tourism and urban housing projects but there needs to be a prioritisation and vision for these projects.