The tourism department got ₹10 crore in 2019-20, ₹4 crore in 2021-22, and ₹ 2 crore allocated in 2022-23 for the development of the only Ramsar Site in Assam.
Even though the department has received funding to construct the only Ramsar site in Assam, no master plan for the freshwater lake has yet been developed by the agency.
The fund has not yet been utilised, was told in response to the Gauhati West MLA's inquiry about its utilisation in the Winter Assembly session.
Ramendra Kalita enquired as to whether a master plan had been created for the development of the Deepor Beel, and was informed that none had been done so far.
According to the answers provided to Kalita, the government gave ₹10 crore for the development of Deepor Beel in 2019-20, ₹4 crore in 2021-22, and in the budget 2022-23, ₹2 crore sanctioned for the development of the beel.
Although the department has the resources to build the only Ramsar site in Assam, the department has not yet created a master plan for the freshwater lake.
Ramendra Narayan Kalita talking to G Plus said, “It is an important issue and therefore I raised the question.” He further said that on December 20 after the assembly the chief minister of Assam, Himanta Biswa Sarma directed the tourism department to immediately start working on the development of Deepor Beel. Kalita added that it is questionable that even after the department received funds it did not work even in any master plan.
There are various issues related to Deepor Beel development that needs to be tackled, many departments need to collaborate, said a source in the tourism department
It should be noted that Guwahati Smart City Ltd. even started working on the Deepor Beel development project, but eventually abandoned it.
The Assam government has announced industrial status for the tourism sector in an effort to entice more business owners and investors to choose the state as their investment destination.
The department of tourism announced that it will enable on-the-job training that employers will provide for local employees in hotels and resorts with a focus on employing local youngsters.