IEP Chandigarh, November 10
Haryana Chief Secretary, Sh. Sanjeev Kaushal said that five districts including Panchkula, Yamunanagar, Mahendragarh, Faridabad and Kurukshetra have been included in the tourism hub to promote tourism in the state. In addition, a detailed project report is being created for infrastructure development of District Panchkula from the tourism point of view.
The Chief Secretary was presiding over a meeting of the first State Steering Committee organized for the development of tourism infrastructure under the Swadesh Darshan-2.0 scheme of the Ministry of Tourism, Government of India, here today. He said that this is a better effective scheme to promote tourism. More effort should be put into it for the expansion of tourism in the state which will directly give a boost to employment.
He said that there are 55 tourist places in Panchkula like Morni Hills, Yadavindra Garden, Kaushalya Dam, Nada Sahib etc.. The proposal to include Mahendragarh and Faridabad districts in this scheme will also be sent to the Ministry of Tourism so that tourism can be promoted in these districts as well. He said that Mahendragarh has many ancient monument sites like Madhogarh Fort, Birbal Ka Chatta, Jal Mahal, Dhosi Parvat which are being developed from the tourism point of view.
He said that there are 17 tourist places in Faridabad like historic Surajkund, Damdama Lake, Aravali Golf Club, Sohna Water Springs etc. He said that work should also be done on creating a modern level special tourism block in Surajkund as per the directions of Chief Minister, Sh. Manohar Lal so that it can become a centre of attraction for the tourists. There are many tourist places in Yamunanagar like Adi Badri, Lohgarh, Hathni Kund Barrage, Kalesar National Park, etc.
The Chief Secretary stated that work on tourism and related infrastructure, tourism services, human and capital development, site management and promotion, etc. must be done in order to implement the Swadesh Darshan Scheme 2.0. Additionally, facilities and services related to wellness and rural tourism, adventure tourism, cultural and heritage tourism will be worked on. Apart from this, meeting, conference and exhibition venues and places to promote tourism promotion are also to be selected.
He said that under the Swadesh Darshan 1.0 scheme, eco-tourism, wildlife, intellectual, spiritual, hilly inaccessible areas, pilgrimage places etc. were selected. In this scheme, tourism infrastructure is being developed at a cost of Rs. 97.34 crore by including the Krishna Circuit project in Kurukshetra, Haryana. In these, work is being done on 5 schemes like Multipurpose Tourism Information Centre, Railing of Sarovar, Abhimanyu Ghat, Light and Sound show which will be completed and operated in the month of November. He said that Thanesar Sheikh Chilli Tomb of Kurukshetra should also be included in this scheme and developed.
A presentation on Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme was also shown in the meeting. Additional Chief Secretary, Development and Panchayats Department, Sh. Anil Malik, Additional Chief Secretary, Public Health Engineering Department, Sh. Apoorva Kumar Singh, Principal Secretary, Haryana Tourism Department, Sh. MD Sinha, Director, Tourism, Special Secretary to Government, Tourism Department, Sh. Pankaj, Director, Art & Cultural Affairs and Special Secretary, Art & Cultural Affairs Department, Sh. Mahavir Kaushik and many senior officers were present.
