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The Tourism Ministry has sent a directive to all the chief secretaries in states and Union Territories. The directive, part of a set of guidelines to be implemented while designing tourism projects, also says that the states and UTs must ensure that water source, its required quantity and irrigation system are available in the vicinity before commencing a project.
Further, rainwater harvesting, ground water recharging and zero discharge will have to be adopted by the states while starting tourism projects.
These and quite a few other guidelines have been formulated by the ministry following a workshop held in the capital recently on developing world class tourism infrastructure in the country.
Architects, engineering organisations, tourism managers and consultants had participated in the workshop, chaired by Tourism Minister Kumari Selja. It was aimed at sensitising various stakeholders towards the emerging trends in world class tourism.
In a letter to state and UT chief secretaries, Tourism Secretary Sujit Banerjee has said they should concentrate on four broad categories of urban civic amenities and build heritage and signages, climactically responsive and vernacular architecture and urban landscapes.
The states should, the guidelines said, have a window clearance mechanism for tourism-related projects, and also efforts should be made to formulate schemes under mega destinations projects/circuits in consonance with the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission.
“These guidelines will form the basis of any further tourism development project in states/UT administrations,” Banerjee said.
The states have also been asked to encourage free and frequent distribution of high quality tourist maps, guides, CDs, posters, tourism calendars, and maps and create wayside amenities in about every 50 km on roads leading to tourist destinations. The states will also have to follow international norms and guidelines, including Unesco charters, for world heritage sites in particular and other heritage sites and monuments in general.