SHILLONG, Dec 8: In an effort to stimulate the tourism sector in Meghalaya, the state government is proposing to create land banks to set up major tourist destinations/locations/routes through third party interventions under public-private-partnership (PPP) mode.
This is primarily being done in view of the fact that land in the state is either owned or is under the control of communities and individuals.
The draft Tourism Policy 2022 mentions that it is extremely challenging for the government to take up large infrastructure projects or to attract investments in the private sectors due to paucity of land.
“The state government shall endeavour to work towards creating land banks which can be handed over or leased to interested and eligible third parties to build infrastructure or undertake tourism-related activities,” the draft policy states, adding that the same will be done in collaboration with all the stakeholders and such endeavours will be in accordance with a PPP policy.
The draft policy envisions Meghalaya as a model tourist destination that serves all kinds of experiences like nature, adventure and staycation with adequate safety and comfort to all segments of tourists.
“This also includes differently-able group who often require special attention and dedicated infrastructure. It is estimated that about 2.1% of India’s population is differently-able and the state should have required facilities and supporting infrastructure to make their visit comfortable,” the draft policy states.
The policy notes that the present levels of connectivity to and within the state fall short in comparison to major tourist hubs such as Kerala and Uttarakhand, and currently, tourist face difficulties in accessing far-off destinations such Mawsynram, Mawkyrwat, Balpakram, Nokrek and Siju.
“These and many such sites have a lot of potential to attract tourists but are underexplored because of insufficient connectivity,” the draft policy says.
To improve air connectivity to the state, the draft policy states that the state government will strive to establish direct connectivity with major cities such as New Delhi, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Mumbai and Chennai.
The draft policy further stated that further efforts shall be made to operationalise the Baljek Airport to improve connectivity to Garo Hills and the government may also expand the helicopter services to Williamnagar, Dawki and Sohra.
To attract high value tourists to the State, the government may also explore possibilities of setting up greenfield airport to cater to larger flights since the Umroi Airport can only serve 78-seater flights and not the standard 192-seaters, the policy notes.
The draft policy also states that the government will take various initiatives in a time-bound manner to improve the overall experience of the tourists especially the congestion on the major arterial routes (Mawlai-Upper Shillong and Mawlai-Madanrting) leads to unpleasant experiences for tourists.
Stating that electric buses may be introduced to cover popular destinations, the draft policy states that the option of introducing e-vehicle/buggies at major tourist destinations may also be explored.
“The government may also consider the option of introducing luxury tourist vehicles and caravans on a subsidised model that may be operated by individual entrepreneurs. Such an initiative will add to the fleet already available in the state,” says the policy.
Moreover, the draft policy also states that in 2019, the tourist footfall in the state stood at about 12.7 lakh (including 25,000 foreigners). “Among the Northeastern states, this is the highest after Assam and Sikkim. It is expected that the annual tourist footfall will cross 15 lakh by 2024,” the policy adds.
