Don’t oppose tourism village, Palampur residents urged

Palampur, January 8

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Gokul Butail, Principal Adviser (Innovation, Digital Technologies and Governance) to the Chief Minister, today appealed to intellectuals, local politicians and NGOs of Palampur city not to oppose tourism village proposed to be developed by the state government on 100 hectares.

He said that it was a dream project of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who had earlier announced the plan to make Kangra the tourism capital of the state. The proposed village was expected to provide employment opportunities to hundreds of local youth.

Butail, while addressing mediapersons here, said that some people with vested interests were spreading misinformation on the project. He added that the government planned to develop a tourism village like New Delhi’s Aerocity, which would have a large convention centre, golf course, hotels, corporate offices of IT companies and other facilities to attract tourists.

He said land would not be allotted to any one corporate house and instead several investors would be invited to operate there on a revenue-sharing basis with the government. Rules and regulations regarding land allotment, lease rates and agreements with investors would be formulated based on the tourism policy of the state.

He said if the university required more land in future, suitable land adjoining Palampur could be allocated to it. He reiterated the Chief Minister’s commitment to safeguarding the state’s interests. He assured people that tourism village, once completed, would be an asset to Palampur as well as the state.