Rajasthan Chief Minister VOWS to bring 'Elephants into Games'

[Guest guest]

Dear Colleagues,

 

Please read this article written by the present Chief minister of

Rajasthan, who has expressed her desire to bring camels, horses and

elephants into games.

 

No wonder with such an attitude and will power of the head of the

state, I can very well understand as to how difficult it must be to

eradicate frivolous games and sports such as 'ELEPHANT POLO' from

Rajasthan.

 

Azam Siddiqui

 

--

http://www.india-seminar.com/2005/554/554%20vasundhara%20raje.htm

 

Facilitating tourism

 

HAVING had the opportunity to visit South Africa many times I really

wish we could structure tourism in the manner that it has been done

there. It needs to be understood as bringing our palaces back to life.

Our main aim is to develop our strength. Rajasthan's major strength

lies in tourism. What we need is to go out and push forward to make it

work better than it has ever worked before. This is where the

challenge lies.

 

At one level figures of tourist arrivals seem to be very exiting. The

other side, which CRISIL has brought out, shows that our share in the

pie is coming down.

 

It is important to diversify tourism. People come to see forts,

palaces, and havelis in Rajasthan, which other states don't have and

we intend to cash in on it. I don't believe that tourism is something

that can be done today, just by government initiative. Government led

tourism will be blind tourism. The government has to be a catalyst and

facilitate the private investor. That hotel land should be

declassified from commercial land is an idea worth addressing; in

Gujarat and UP they are giving land out at Rs 3500 per sq m. People

have to be educated about the fact that if tourism takes off it will

be the greatest employment generator in Rajasthan.

 

The most important aspect is to develop our infrastructure. Today the

shortage of rooms and the classification of land is troubling. For the

last 18 months we have not been able to implement even one hotel

project due to a host of reasons. However, our tourism department has

of late been working on solving these problems. If a tourist does not

get a room which he wishes, why should he come to Rajasthan? It is

extremely important to improve and increase the number of hotel rooms

to attract more tourists. We have discussed five star hotels, three

star hotels, but what about the budget hotels? The budget hotel is an

extremely useful and important idea.

 

We have an industry zone and allocate industrial land on concessional

prices. Hotels are also an industry. Successive governments have

declared it as an industry. We too have called it an industry but no

government has been able to actually make it work in a way that the

tourism industry should. No concessions have been given in the hope

that tourism will grow on its own through private initiative. Because

Rajasthan is what it is, it had a head start, but I am afraid due to

competition, every state is making huge efforts.

 

I looked at the official report of FICCI; they were very generous in

putting Rajasthan on top of the list. Figures of domestic and foreign

tourists are also very good but look at domestic arrival figures in

Rajasthan. It is only 4.3%. It is much more for UP which is 14-15%

domestic and 34% for foreign tourists. Young children and the new

generation have to be taught heritage preservation and be educated

about how tourism can create employment opportunities.

 

No tourist will come a second time if the experience remains

unsatisfactory. This is probably why the figure of repeat tourists is

low. I hope and I want to make the experience more and more

interesting. We are aware of this, and will see that whatever is

possible is done. As far as heritage tourism is concerned, there are

lots of palaces in Rajasthan which have not got converted into

heritage hotels and properties. I believe that they need to be

facilitated, and the government will do so. I am also looking at the

district-wise inventory of land.

 

It is not only Jaipur that has to grow. We are marketing circuits, and

we believe that there is much beauty around Rajasthan. Flying to

Barmer will take half an hour from my city. But it is still a very

long distance, and we need to create facilities at that end too.

Desert tourism is probably one of our special strengths. We are making

efforts to endorse infrastructure and activities for Barmer and

Jaisalmer, to create more and more festivals and incentives to take

people and investment there. But to get the people to move to the

desert, we must make tourism really very interesting. It is not just

the fairs and festivals there, but also the rock climbing, hand

gliding, and motoring on the sand.

 

In South Africa, magnificent hotels, casinos, homes away from home,

the safari business, all come together. In just a day or two, you

spend money and have a really good time. Now, that kind of interest

has to be generated. People should have a very good reason to come and

spend some days here. Eco tourism, health tourism, rural tourism are

obvious. We have taken major strides in rural tourism, but it is not

real rural tourism. Can we say that the Samod experience is rural

tourism? Is the Neemrana experience rural tourism? They are old

beautiful palaces, which have been converted into wonderful recreation

centres. We are now trying to create 17 or 18 villages, where one can

actually live village cultures. When I take tourism to Barmer, I would

like to showcase village culture there, so that visitors understand

how the people of that area live. Adivasi areas, where the music is

great, where people are wonderful, where scenic environment is

wonderful, where a different way of life lives, will be an unusual

experience. Similarly, the desert too has a different way of life. Eco

tourism, rural tourism, and health tourism, all spell diversity of

experience. It is just a question of how to put them together and to

make tourism work. We are looking to bring camels, horses and

elephants into games, to build up sports, and include that element

into tourism activities. We are also trying very hard to come up with

a sports city, to showcase traditional sports like archery and shooting.

 

Amber has been made a commercial autonomous entity, i.e., Amber

Development Board. It is a mix of government and private

participation; the ultimate aim being to make it a living monument, a

vibrant heritage. In the initial years, government will support the

project financially, and later, it should become self-sustaining. In a

similar way Ranthambhore can be remodelled on the game parks in

Africa. If there is a management board created for Ranthambhore,

everybody will work for its betterment and there will be a brand

loyalty. The revenue will go back into it.

 

For every tourism project, there should be passion. We hear of

problems related to elephants in Amber, maybe part of it is true. We

are taking up an elephant village project where they will not only

live, but people can visit it as a tourist site. Our people have done

a good job by initiating Jaipur pride. It has many benefits. Apart

from the income (by letting out rooms), people will have to maintain

their locality and keep it clean but above all, it compels the

citizens to get involved in tourism and unless tourism becomes a way

of life, it will remain like any government department. People in

Rajasthan have taken to yoga too and many schools have already started

yoga classes, and if everybody gets into it, this will create yoga

tourism.

 

Air connectivity is really very important. We brought down ATR in this

budget. This can go to zero if Jaipur is opted for as hub. Jaipur is

hardly twenty-five minutes from Delhi. Chartered aircraft are already

arriving. It is important to attract known airlines to Rajasthan. We

have 30 airstrips, of which five are with the military. We have begun

their renovation. Chartered flights may go directly to these places

without coming via Jaipur. There is no need for any permission. For

security purposes, we may provide the necessary facilities. Jaipur

needs to be declared an international airport immediately. We keep

reminding the Government of India! You too should demand this.

 

The area between Gurgaon-Delhi and Jaipur, is already full, and we

have plans to develop it, on the lines of Noida, by creating an

NCR-Bhiwadi board. In the Knowledge Corridor, all the knowledge-based

industries are welcome. Knowledge/ IT based tourism is also on the

cards. Hotel lands need to be declassified, land banks set up,

attracting investors to set up international hotels – budget hotels

are all very important.

 

We will look into the proposal for a 6-7 year tax holiday. For

establishing health resorts, there is a need to give land on long

lease. We should have a real, genuine single window system for all

clearances. Once the policy comes out, everything will follow and fall

in line. An eco-tourism policy draft has been prepared, and the forest

and tourism departments are working together on this. A new tourism

policy is in the pipeline and only needs some fine-tuning. Tourism is

our lifeline.

 

Vasundhara Raje