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Convergence
of tourism, housing to generate more employment Chandigarh:
Union Tourism and Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation Minister Kumari Selja
has said that both the Ministries under her have vast potential for employment
generation and convergence between the two is under active consideration of the
Government to utilize their full potential. Addressing media persons here, Selja
said, "The thrust area for the Government will be creation and improvement of
tourism infrastructure, promotion and publicity of India as a preferred tourism
destination in overseas markets, promotion of domestic tourism, development of
human resource through skill development, skill certification and broad basing
the hospitality education and most importantly employment generation." She reiterated
that tourism should result in sustainable and equitable growth. The Minister said
that after a decline in foreign tourist arrivals, ranging between 10.6 per cent
and 17.6 per cent during the first three months of the current year, as compared
to the corresponding period of the previous year 2008, the month of May saw a
decline of only 1.9 per cent as compared to May 2008. "Foreign Tourist Arrivals
during the month of May 2009 were 295124, which are almost on par with the figure
of 300840 during the same period in 2008," she added. On housing and urban poverty
alleviation, she said the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM)
with approval of projects of nearly Rs. 50,000 crore in the last four years is
reshaping our cities and has been widely welcomed. "It will continue to focus
on infrastructure, basic services and governance reform and increase support to
cities to upgrade public transport. Over 15 lakh houses are under construction
for the urban poor," she added. The Minister said there is a need to focus urban
housing programmes on the poor living in slums. She said the Government proposes
to introduce the Rajiv Awas Yojana for the slum dwellers and the urban poor on
the lines of the Indira Awas Yojana for the rural poor. "The schemes for affordable
housing through partnership and the scheme for interest subsidy for urban housing
would be dovetailed into the Rajiv Awas Yojana, which would extend support under
the JNNURM to States that are willing to assign property rights to people living
in slum areas. The government's effort would be to create a slum-free India in
five years through the Rajiv Awas Yojana, she added. She later said her Ministry
is working on the features of the Rajiv Awas Yojana and making effort to formulate
the scheme for approval by the competent authority within 100 days. -June
29, 2009 Go
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