West Bengal government would be soon setting up an Eco-Tourism Board to develop and promote the state as an attractive eco-tourism destination. Speaking to Express TravelWorld, Bratya Basu, state tourism minister said, “The state government will soon set up an Eco-Tourism Board to develop the state as an eco-tourism destination and promote it as an attractive investment destination for this sector. Mamata Banerjee, the state chief minister, will be heading this Eco-Tourism Board and other members of the board will be appointed by her.”
Sources indicate that the proposed board will comprise of professionals, senior government officials of different departments and experts on environment. According to a senior official of the tourism department, chief minister Banerjee had earlier instructed the state tourism department officials to start work on the process of setting up this board. On her instructions, a task force was formed comprising of professional consultants and senior government officials to work on the process. “The task-force has recommended for setting up of this board,” Basu added.
A senior tourism department official said that plans are afoot to set up eco-tourism hubs in different parts of the state. The State Tourism Department is working on setting up a major eco-tourism hub in the Dooars in North Bengal besides setting up the mega-tourism hub at Gajoldoba in Jalpaiguri district. It has invested huge amount in creating world-class tourism infrastructure at Gajoldoba and has already floated a global tender inviting investment proposals from private parties. The department plans to set up several tourism related projects like luxury and budget hotels, amusement and recreational facilities at Gajoldoba on public-private-partnership (PPP) mode. The official said that nearly 250 acres of land has already been identified by the state government to build the mega tourism hub at Gajoldoba.
The government has lined up big investment in phases from the state plan fund for developing the required infrastructure like roads, power, drainage and water supply in the areas that has been identified to be developed as eco-tourism hubs.
The official said that the places identified to be developed as eco-tourism hubs are situated in sylvan surroundings and are in fragile forest zones with abundance of flora and fauna. The government wants to develop various leisure and adventure sports activities like trekking, bird-watching and jungle safari in these places.
The department is also working on plans to utilise the natural resources in these areas to set up the new tourist hubs comprising of resorts, food courts, cultural centres, health centers and other facilities in the PPP mode. For this, the department has to liaison with different other departments like environment and forests for clearances. The proposed board will liaison with the related departments and help in quick decision making, approval and speedy implementation of the projects.