In the name of development of tourism, 20 cottages are an insult to the people of Pathankot
Demokratic Front, Chandigarh, 09 October :
Punjab Congress Treasurer and former MLA Amit Vij has said that in the coming time, Pathankot can become a center of tourist attraction not only in the country but in the world, but for this it is necessary to have clear intention and willpower of the government. He said tourism in Pathankot
The project has the potential to attract investments of Rs 2000 crore.
However, the government decided to invest Rs 20 crore from government funding for the construction of 20 cottages in the name of tourism development of Pathankot, which is not fair to the project and is playing with the people of Pathankot, he said. He said that during my tenure as MLA, the Punjab Government is in the process of obtaining approval of 77 acres of land for the first phase of the project,Approvals were obtained after two years of hard work with the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Government of India and the Regional Office of MoEF.
I was happy when we finally got the approval, as it was the second eco tourism project to be approved by the Environment Ministry in the dam area. But unfortunately the Corona era has started. The tourism industry was badly affected by the pandemic.
But after Corona it has shown signs of improvement. We planned road shows abroad and started talks with major investors in Mumbai, investors also showed their interest. However, due to the impact of the pandemic and the slowdown in the tourism industry, it was deemed more prudent to postpone these efforts. In 2021, the Punjab government issued a global tender, but administrative changes and an election year created uncertainties,Due to which the confidence of investors in the state decreased. The recent industrial meeting by the AAP government in September 2023 did not yield any concrete investment, but there was definitely wastage of public money used to campaign for government leaders. This conference showed the lack of confidence of investors in the present government of Punjab.
He said that the government wants to limit the tourism project in Pathankot to only 20 cottages, which would be unjust and unfair.
He said that these cottages will be used exclusively by VIPs, the general public will be deprived of it. He said the Ranjit Sagar Dam area already has cottages and a large underutilized building which is being used for tourism purposes. Applying this limited approach is unfair to the people of Punjab and Pathankot.
He said that Pathankot Tourism Project will create many employment opportunities in the area as well as promote business activities, which can change the economic scenario of Pathankot. The AAP government should make extra efforts to ensure justice for this important project. He said that if the PepsiCo project in Pathankot could be made possible with an investment of about Rs 1000 crore during my tenure,
So attracting investment of Rs 2000 crore for tourism project is also definitely possible.
He said the investment of only Rs 20 crore is also a proof of the AAP government’s incompetence with public money.
He said that by building cottages in the name of tourism development, they should not be made a den of debauchery for politicians and big people.
He said that investment has not come to Punjab in the past due to law and order and inexperience of the government, and tourism investment may also stop due to these reasons.
He appealed to the Maan Government of Punjab to take this seriously and rise above the party level and take the possibilities of tourism development in Pathankot in the right direction, so that the government can be praised and Pathankot can also be developed.
