The Hindu Business Line : Chhattisgarh to invest Rs 100 cr in tourism

The Chhattisgarh Government will unveil a new tourism policy within two months with emphasis on attracting private investment to strengthen the support infrastructure.

Chhattisgarh is viewing tourism as a growth engine and has firmed up move to invest about Rs 100 crore on the sector over next 24 months in addition to Rs 50 crore now being pumped into support infrastructure.

The State Tourism Minister, Mr Brijmohan Agarwal, said that in six months the Government proposes to enter into inter-State arrangements with tourism Departments that would help provide package tours.

Speaking to newspersons after inaugurating a tourist office at Hyderabad, Mr Agarwal said that Chhattisgarh is home to dense forest tracts, which account for about 44 per cent of the State area. This provides for a unique opportunity to explore virgin forests.

The Government is in the process of strengthening its airport infrastructure and is witnessing significant investments from the Tatas, who have indicated at investment of Rs 10,000 crore, and Essar (Rs 5,000 crore).

About 10,000 MW of additional power generation capacity is planned.

The Government has taken up several projects through public-private partnership and tourism is one area where the private sector could play a big role through construction of hotels.

Mr Agarwal said that the State currently attracts about 10 lakh tourists every year. It is home to "some of the best waterfalls, pilgrimage and heritage centres."

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