Provide higher allocations to tourism ministry: House panel

A parliamentary standing committee has asked the government to provide higher budgetary allocations to the Union tourism ministry, observing that the funds earmarked for fiscal 2020-21 are "low" and it may jeopardize the targeted tourism outcomes.”

The panel in its report, tabled in Parliament on Tuesday, noted that fewer allocations as compared to the projected demand of the ministry was not “unique” to the financial year 2020-21.

While the finance ministry has allocated just Rs 2499.83 crore to the ministry as against its projected demand of Rs 2647.25 crore for 2020-21, it provided Rs 2150 crore and Rs 2189.22 crore to the ministry in the budgetary estimates for 2018-19 and 2019-20 against the projected demands of Rs 4320.42 crore and Rs 4612.18 crore for the respective fiscal.

The budgetary allocations for the ministry were further reduced to Rs 2113.48 crore and Rs 1416 crore at the stage of revised estimates for the fiscal 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively.

“Availability of adequate resources to the tourism sector is sine qua non (an essential condition) for achieving the tourism growth as well as inclusive growth,” the panel noted, asking the government to accord “priority status” to the tourism sector.

It advised the government to enumerate “a fiscal roadmap” for generating and allocating more financial resource for tourism “so that the full potential of a vibrant sector could be tapped,” noting with dismay that India’s total share in global international tourist arrivals remains a modest 1.24% against the target of 3% despite its unique endowments of biodiversity and country's rich culture and heritage.

“If our country can tap its full potential of the tourism sector, it can play a major role for faster and inclusive growth, but for this to happen, the budgetary provisions for the ministry have to be enhanced substantially,” it added.

The parliamentary panel also rapped up the tourism ministry, taking note of the mismatch between the projected demand for funds made by it and the actual allocations that came to its kitty for the fiscals 2018-19 and 2019-20.

“The pattern of the shortfall in the allocation of funds indicates that budgetary requirements are being projected by the ministry on the basis of theoretical anticipation rather than on actual trend of requirement,” the House panel observed.

It asked the ministry to rectify and improve upon the existing system of assessing the requirement of funds and have the entire requirements “realistically” assessed after collecting timely information on requirement of funds from the State governments and other stakeholders.

“The ministry should formulate schemes/programmes which can be implemented in a time-bound manner,” the committee said in its report, asking the ministry to apprised it with the action taken in this regard.