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Discussion On The Demand For Grants No. 9 Under The Control Of The Ministry Of Civil ... on 2 May, 2016

Sixteenth Loksabha an> title: Discussion on the Demand for Grants No. 9 under the control of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Demand for Grant No. 88 under the control of the Ministry of Tourism (Discussion not concluded).

 

HON. CHAIRPERSON: The House will now take up discussion and voting on Demand No. 9 relating to the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Demand No. 88 relating to the Ministry of Tourism.

          Hon. Members present in the House whose cut motions to the Demands for Grants in respect of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and the Ministry of Tourism have been circulated may, if they desire to move their cut motions, send slips to the Table within 15 minutes indicating the serial numbers of the cut motions they would like to move.  Only those cut motions, slips in respect of which are received at the Table within the stipulated time, will be treated as moved.

          A list showing the serial numbers of cut motions treated as moved will be put up on the Notice Board shortly thereafter.  In case Members find any discrepancy in the list, they may kindly bring it to the notice of the Officer at the Table immediately.

Motions moved:

 “That the respective sums not exceeding the amounts on Revenue Account and Capital Account shown in the fourth column of the Order Paper be granted to the President out of the Consolidated Fund of India, to complete the sums necessary to defray the charges that will come in course of payment during the year ending the 31st day of March, 2017, in respect of the head of Demand entered in the Second column thereof against Demand No. 9 relating to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.”   Demands for Grants (General), 2016-17 in respect of Ministry of Civil Aviation submitted to the vote of Lok Sabha No. of Demand Name of Demand Amount of Demands for Grants on Account voted by the House on March 2016 Amount of Demands for Grants submitted to the vote of the House   1 2 3 4     Revenue (Rs.) Capital (Rs. ) Revenue (Rs.) Capital (Rs. ) 9 Ministry of Civil Aviation 135,09,00,000 296,70,00,000 675,43,00,000 1483,50,00,000   “That the respective sums not exceeding the amounts on Revenue Account and Capital Account shown in the fourth column of the Order Paper be granted to the President out of the Consolidated Fund of India, to complete the sums necessary to defray the charges that will come in course of payment during the year ending the 31st day of March, 2017, in respect of the head of Demand entered in the Second column thereof against Demand No. 88 relating to the Ministry of Tourism.”   Demands for Grants (General), 2016-17 in respect of Ministry of Tourism submitted to the vote of Lok Sabha   No. of Demand Name of Demand Amount of Demands for Grants on Account voted by the House on March 2016 Amount of Demands for Grants submitted to the vote of the House   1 2 3 4     Revenue (Rs.) Capital (Rs. ) Revenue (Rs.) Capital (Rs. ) 88 Ministry of Tourism 264,88,00,000 18,00,000 1324,39,00,000 87,00,000 SHRI K.C. VENUGOPAL (ALAPPUZHA): Sir, I rise to oppose the Demand for Grants for the Ministries of Civil Aviation and Tourism. 

          Now, two important subjects Civil Aviation and Tourism are being discussed today which has got immense potential for growth both in the domestic and also in the international sector.

          First of all, I would like to say something about Civil Aviation.  The Government has already brought a draft Civil Aviation Policy.  That policy has clearly pointed out that India has the potential to be among the global top three nations in terms of domestic and international passengers. However, we have not witnessed the level of growth that it should have.  To promote the growth of aviation sector in the country, the Government has multiple responsibilities including ensuring sustainable infrastructure development, affordable flying, passenger friendly attitude and their safety and security things. It is highly necessary to check the progress and deficiency of the Government in this regard.

16.20 hours                          (Shri Anandrao Adsul in the Chair)           First of all, I am coming to affordable flying. Hon. Chairman, Sir, now we are witnessing a rocketing airfare throughout the country, both in the domestic sector and also in the international sector. In the draft Civil Aviation Policy, the Government has emphasized the need of taking flying to the masses by making it affordable. But what is exactly happening in the affordable flying? There is nothing. As airfare is rocketing, especially during peak seasons, the Civil Aviation Ministry has taken a stand that they are not in a position to interfere because of the existing price regulating mechanism. Is it a right thing? … (Interruptions)

 I would like to point out some of the most important things to the hon. Minister. What are the factors for fixing the airfare? One of the major factors is the operating cost. As per the civil aviation experts, 40 per cent of the operating cost comes from ATF price. What exactly is the current situation in that area?  The price of ATF in Delhi in 2013 was Rs.74,204.74 per kilolitre. What exactly is the price now? It has come down from Rs.74,204.74 to Rs.35,127. It has come down more than half. The ATF prices have come down from Rs.74,204 to Rs.35,127. Sir, 40 per cent of the operating cost is coming from ATF price. That is what the Civil Aviation Ministry officials are saying.

I would like to know from the Minister, through you, how much of this benefit has been passed on to the consumers. The Air India officials are claiming that they have a benefit of around Rs.900 crore because of the coming down of the ATF prices. We do not know the statistics of the private airlines. They are looting. They have a huge benefit because of the coming down of the ATF tariff or fall in prices of ATF. What action has been taken by the Government to give justice to the poor consumers of the country? The answer should be given to this by the hon. Minister.

Second, what about the international sector? I am coming from a State from which thousands and lakhs of people are working in the Middle-East. A majority of them are downtrodden people. They are in the camps. The hon. Prime Minister, Narendra Modi Ji had visited Dubai one year before. He had received a lot of complaints regarding airfare. I have a statistics with me. In cheaper airlines, including Air India Express and other private airlines, normally the rate of Kochi-Dubai is between Rs.12,000 and Rs.14,000. I have another figure. From 16th June to 30th June, the fare of one way journey is Rs.26,100. From 1st July to 16th July, the fare is Rs.42,100. The return fare is Rs.35,100. From 1st July to 1st August, the fare is Rs.65,000. It is six times higher than the ordinary charges. They are benefitting because of the falling price of ATF tariff. So, they have a huge benefit. But they are looting people. Hon. Minister, it is actually a loot.

THE MINISTER OF CIVIL AVIATION (SHRI ASHOK GAJAPATHI  RAJU): If you agree, I would like to clarify one point that on international travel there is no tax from ATF. It is zero.

SHRI K.C. VENUGOPAL: Sir, I am not talking about the tax, I am talking about the price of ATF. Therefore, there is a need of intervention from the Government side.

          The media has reported that the hon. Prime Minister intervened and directed the Civil Aviation Minister to look into the matter and take immediate steps. So, this is what has happened.

          At present, again, the prices are exorbitantly high. The people are not in a position to afford them. These people come only once in three or four years. The situation is same even with Air India Express, which is a cheaper airline. So, they are looting the poor people. There is required a strong action from the Government. The august House is expecting a positive reply from the hon. Minister in this regard. There is no justification of air fare hike when the price of ATF is falling.

          Secondly, in this year’s Budget, the allocation for Air India has been drastically cut. I am sincerely congratulating the Air India for taking efforts to sustain itself. I can frankly say that the present CMD of Air India is doing a good job. His predecessor was also doing a good job. In 2012, they have a turnaround package (TAP). Every year the Ministry of Finance allocates some money to them. What is the allocation of this year, hon. Minister?  Are you satisfied with that? Are you in a position to run Air India smoothly with that allocation? I am asking for Air India because it is public carrier. We need Air India because it is a national carrier. The allocation has been drastically cut. Therefore, the Air India would definitely suffer. If they do not try to run it smoothly, it will be in trouble and the private carriers will gain. Therefore, my request to the hon. Minister is that he should take up this issue with the Finance Minister and ask for maximum amount of money. There has been a yearly allocation since 2012. So, this amount should be earmarked for Air India.

          My third point is regarding Air India Express. I think it is a profit running organisation. A majority of Air India Express flights are flying from Kerala. The Headquarters of Air India Express is in Kerala. For many years we have been requesting for shifting the headquarters to Kochi. Some offices have been shifted, that I agree. But the process of shifting the entire office has not started yet. Therefore, I need an action from the Government in this regard.

          Then, as the fleet expiration process is going on, meanwhile the fleet expansion process should also go on so that there are sufficient flights from Kerala to Middle East.

          My next point is that our aviation policy speaks about the affordable flying. Yes, we agree with it. A proposal has been made by the Kerala Government to your Ministry which is pending for the last two-three years. This is regarding starting of Air Kerala.   I know the limitations. There are two important norms for starting an airline – minimum five-year flying experience and minimum fleet of 20. Kerala Government wants to invest in that area. If the Government of India is ready to agree to the proposal of starting Air Kerala, they are ready to invest, but they want consent from the Central Government. When the UPA Government was in power, a Cabinet Note was circulated. At that time, the elections were announced. For the last two years, you are sitting on the papers. Therefore, please expedite the thing. I have an answer. How can you say like this? You just ask your Secretary. He may be knowing. The proposal to start Air Kerala should be approved. A Cabinet decision is needed for that. Therefore, it should be expedited.

          The safety and security of the airports is also of utmost importance. One year ago, an unfortunate incident happened at Calicut Airport. One person was killed in a fight between the people of Air Authority of India’s Fire Department and the CISF. An inquiry has been conducted. It was a highly unfortunate incident which damaged the safety and security of the airport itself. So far no report has come out and no action has been taken. Therefore, I would like to know the status of that inquiry and its report on the said incident which took place at Calicut Airport.

          Some repair works have commenced at the Calicut Airport. That is also one of the important things. The Haj operations of Calicut Airport have been shifted to Kochi Airport because of its inability to run the big flights. Therefore, I need a time bound programme for the repairing works undertaken at the Calicut Airport.

          Sir, I am telling about the safety issues. There are many incidents which are happening, especially in Air India. Recently, three incidents have happened. Two cabin crews fought with each other and the Delhi-Kochi flight got delayed by four hours. I think, the hon. Minister has noticed that matter. Anyway, the CMD has taken an action. I appreciate him for that attitude.

          Last week, Thiruvananthapuram witnessed another incident. Seventeen people were deboarded from the plane because of the instructions of the pilot. The reason was that these people complained that the AC was not functioning.  Then, the pilot instructed to deboard them. That incident has to be investigated into.

          In another incident, a pilot insisted that his co-pilot should be a particular person – I am not revealing the names – otherwise he would not fly. The flight got delayed by six to seven hours. Such type of incidents will not help us revive the Air India. Therefore, strong actions should be taken to protect the safety of the passengers. I hope that the hon. generous Minister will give very good answers to my four or five queries.

          Then, Dr. Mahesh Sharma, who is Minister of State for Civil Aviation, is dealing with tourism also. Tourism is the most important sector which provides maximum employment and earns maximum foreign exchange. I have the statistics. Once again, I am telling that Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture has given a very strong Report regarding the air fares. That has been placed on the Table on Friday.  Tourism - as a GDP growth - during 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-2013 contributed around 6.77 per cent, 6.76 per cent, and 6.88 per cent respectively. As far as employment generation is concerned, for the consecutive years, it is 10.17 per cent, 10.78 per cent, 11.49 per cent and 12.36 per cent respectively.

India moved 13 positions ahead from 65th position to 52nd position in Tourism and Travel Competitive Index as per the World Economic Forum. I really congratulate him for the achievement that he has made in the last so many years. But hon. Minister, the performance of your Ministry, is very bad. I am sorry to say this.

          If we see, the Budget Estimate for 2012-2013 was Rs. 1,210 crore; the Final Estimate was Rs. 950 crore; and Actual Expenditure was Rs. 865.96 crore. The Budget Estimate for 2013-2014 was Rs. 1,282 crore; the Final Estimate was Rs. 980 crore; and Actual Expenditure was Rs. 957.79 crore. The Budget Estimate for 2014-2015 was Rs. 1,882 crore; the Final Estimate was Rs. 1,100 crore; and Actual Expenditure was Rs. 866.66 crore. The Budget Estimate for 2015-2016 was Rs. 1,483.20 crore; the Final Estimate was Rs. 850 crore; and Actual Expenditure was Rs. 667.16 crore. Why is it happening like this?

We had a very attractive scheme called PIDDC and you know about it. It was for developing infrastructure in the area of tourism. The UPA Government had introduced one of the fantastic schemes called PIDDC, but after your Government came to power you have withdrawn that scheme from the Central assistance. You have introduced new schemes and those new schemes are good, namely, Swadesh Darshan and Prasad. PIDDC was ongoing and there was a committed liability of around Rs. 2,800 crore in PIDDC all over India. All those projects were ongoing and one fine morning you had withdrawn the Central assistance from this scheme. How can those projects continue?

The Tourism Ministry has given letter to the Ministry of Finance and the Finance Ministry has finally replied that they will look after the North Eastern and Himalayan Region. How much is needed only for the North Eastern and Himalayan Region? It is around Rs. 900 crore. How much is the allocation for this year? It is Rs. 10 crore. The Finance Ministry agreed to give Rs. 900 crore, but allocation for this year is Rs. 10 crore. How will this project go on? Actually, the committed liability is Rs. 2,800 crore. In Kerala, there is a liability of Rs. 107 crore. These projects are mid-way and so much of money has already been spent from the public exchequer. What is the future of this project?

I have already admitted that you are introducing new schemes. What would be the fate of your new schemes, namely, Swadesh Darshan and Prasad instead of PIDDC? The PIDDC was withdrawn to introduce new schemes. What would be the expenditure for those two schemes?       Why has the expenditure during 2015-16 been Rs 667 crore?  It is because these projects are only in the initial stage.  You have allocated money for the projects which are only in the initial stage.  You have withdrawn money from the projects which are going on.  The on-going projects are suffering and new projects are not started.  Your expenditure is very low.  It is almost 12 per cent.  What is this? 

Tourism is one of the most important sectors.  It is the base of employment generation and foreign exchange.  Of all the sectors contributing to GDP growth, tourism is one of the most important sectors. I think the majority of our unemployment will be met by this tourism sector.  But the expenditure side and the on-going schemes are in very much difficulty. I am urging upon you not to take it as a political thing.  The Government is a continued process.  The UPA Government started one scheme; the States are continuing that scheme.  Hon. Naddaji is sitting here.  There were so many medical college projects in UPA regime.  He has continued those projects and those projects are coming up.  Why is this discrimination there?  PIDDC is one of the most important infrastructure projects in tourism sector.  You are withdrawing central assistance to that sector.  If you have performed, then it is all right.  Only 10 to 15 per cent performance is there in 2014-15 and 2015-16 for these schemes.  Only two years have been completed.  Therefore, I urge upon the Minister to revisit the things and reallocate the funds for this PIDDC for all the States.  It is not only for the Opposition ruled States.  The Government-ruled States are also in difficulty.  Please help them.

          I would like to mention the Swadesh Darshan and Prasad schemes.  I complained three or four times that Kerala is God’s Own Country; people call it God’s Own Country.  I was the Tourism Minister in Kerala from 2004 to 2006.  It has beautiful backwaters, beautiful beaches and natural beauty.  God has created Kerala in such a way that it is God’s own country.  But as far as assistance to Kerala is concerned, in 2014-15 and 2015-16 it has been zero.  There are on-going projects of PIDDC.  They have the committed liability of Rs 107 crore.  Those projects are unfinished due to lack of sufficient central assistance and the Government has announced new schemes Prasad and Swadesh   Darshan for pilgrim centres. 

          Hon. Minister went to Guruvayur a year ago.  He announced that Guruvayur would be in the Prasad scheme.  Hon. Minister visited the Padmanabhaswamy Temple. He announced that the Padmanabhaswamy Temple is the richest temple in the world.  Thousands and lakhs of pilgrims come to this place from north India itself.  He announced that Padmanabhaswamy Temple will be included in the list.  When I had a query with him in the Question Hour, he assured that he would visit Sabarimala.  Sabarimala is one of the most sought after pilgrim centres.  He said that he would include Sabarimala also.  None of these projects have been included.  I verified with the Tourism Ministry and I have got a reply that lack of fund is the problem in these cases.  How can you punish a State which has a potential of growth in tourism sector, which has performed very well in tourism sector?  This type of penalisation should be avoided. Both the sectors – civil aviation and tourism – are very important sectors. Therefore, we need natural justice from the Central Government. Being a Keralite, I am asking for natural justice from the Central Government. Once again, I am requesting the hon. Minister to think about the air fare and think about the PIDDC. These things should be giving much growth in the civil aviation sector.

          Thank you, Sir.

         

CUT MOTIONS       SHRI DUSHYANT SINGH (JHALAWAR-BARAN): I support the Government’s Demands for Grants for the Ministries of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

          When I was seeing the Demands for Grants for Civil Aviation and Tourism, I also saw the Demands of many Ministries related to infrastructure. In this, I saw Road Transport and Highways, Shipping, and Culture and I was curious why Civil Aviation was having a significant fall in the Budget support. When I looked at it, I saw that in 2016-17, in the equity infusion to Air India for turnaround plan for financial restructuring there was a cut. When I talk about that, I must also talk about the previous years. In 2012-13, there was Rs. 6,000 crore of infusion in Air India; in 2013-14, it was Rs. 6,857 crore; in 2014-15, it was Rs. 6,198 crore; and since hon. Prime Minister Shri Modi came into power, a cut has been effected and the infusion has been dropped in 2015-16 to Rs. 4,200 crore; and in 2016-17, the allocation is Rs. 1,713 crore. So, you see, this is working towards the betterment of Air India.

          When we talk about the losses to Air India, at the same time look at other companies, there was the incorporation of a company called IndiGo in 2006. There were profits then. What happened in Air India? What made us lose so much money? When I looked at the CAG Report 18 of 2011, I saw that the Techno-Economic Negotiation Committee had suggested initially for an order for acquisition of 28 aircraft but this had been increased to 68 aircraft. When Air India was making a revenue of only Rs. 8,000 crore, you were levying on Air India Rs. 39,000 crore. You had to pay for Air India Rs. 39,000 crore but what steps had you taken?

          The Public Investment Board cleared a purchase of 35 long haul aircraft on firm basis and 15 aircraft on optional basis. This was discussed by the AIL Board. Then, under the leadership of the then Prime Minister, an EGOM was set up which was Chaired by none other than Shri P. Chidamabaram, the then Finance Minister of India. A decision was taken that we do not need to make it 15 optional but we must make 50 aircraft on a firm basis and that we have to buy 50 aircraft on firm basis and 18 aircraft which was discussed earlier. This meant, 68 aircraft coming to Air India on a firm basis. The nation wants to know – the 15 long haul aircraft were costing huge money, the entire structure of the thing was costing huge money – from where the money was coming.

          When I looked at the previous Government of Shri Vajpayee from 199 to 2004, there were 23 aircraft and we went up to 35 aircraft. The percentage at that time or the market share of Air India was between 19 per cent and 19.5 per cent. The AIL Board had estimated that when you buy more aircraft, you can have more market share. From 2004 onwards, how would they get market share? Market share never increased and this caused the biggest financial crunch to Air India which resulted in great difficulties for Air India.  I must mention about the then Indian Airlines; 43 aircraft from Airbus were bought.  Under the leadership of the then Chairman, Shri Chidambaram, there were two EGoM; one in September and the other in December, and an airbus and boeing aircraft were bought. 

When we talk of merger of Air India and Indian Airlines, according to me there was no merger as there were 226 issues which had to be planned within the merger.  These issues were financial viability, resource consolidation, handling of human resources, etc. and till now this has not happened.  The then Air India had increased its market share revenue by 5.34 per cent but they forgot that the losses were also to the tune of 32.76 per cent.  They then constituted the Dharmadhikari Committee basically on human resources which submitted its Report on 31/01/2012 based on pay fixation, manpower, restructuring, VRS but nothing has happened about it till now.

Our Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Sahib formed the Government in 2014.  Since the Government has come in, a lot of changes have taken place.  The Ministry as also the officials have really worked hard.  The operating losses from April to December, 2014 were about Rs.1,446 crore which came down to Rs. 543.38 crore during April-December, 2015.  There has been a reduction of 62 per cent.  The net loss during the same period also decreased to Rs. 3,097 crore.  Now, the EBIDTA has also been positive with Rs.1,174.14 crore.  The available seat km. has improved by 4.9 per cent.  Revenue-passenger km. has also increased by 8.7 per cent.  Passenger carried has increased from 12.4 million to 13.2 million, a growth of 6.8 per cent.  Passenger load factor has enhanced from 72.4 per cent to 74 per cent.  Under the leadership of our Prime Minister the Air India, after a gap of 10 years, has now started making monthly operational profit from December, 2015.

In 2016-17, we see a great demand within the domestic and the international sector.  Towards the domestic side business is booming.  International people are coming into our country.  There has been a lowering of fuel prices.  There has been an overall growth of 20 per cent in traffic and 85 per cent in load factor.

I would like to now quote an agency, CAPA, Centre for Asian Pacific Aviation which works with the airlines.  It forecasts the GDP growth of India as 7.5 per cent and on that basis they expect the double digit traffic growth of international tourists by 8-10 per cent and domestic travellers by 15 per cent.  That means we are going to have about 80 million travellers within our country.

Now, what did we get?  We got our airports.  We have many fair weather strips in our country.  Every State has fair weather strip.  Right now, the Government of India, under the leadership of our Prime Minister, has talked about reviving 160 airports and an allocation between Rs.50-100 crore has been made towards this with the consultation of the State Government.  We live in a federal structure and so we must respect that and work on that line.

          When we talk about make in India, we also think of cargo going out.  Previously, the cargo business was at 19.7 lakh tonnes and it is now moving up to 20.23 lakh tonnes.  We need to improve it further and make it grow at six per cent.

          When we talk about MRO (Maintenance, repair and overhaul), it was set up in Nagpur.  I admire that.  My leader comes from Nagpur… (Interruptions).  We need to look at the MRO as we are losing Rs.5000 crore every year on this account.  Ninety per cent of MRO work is going to countries like Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia.  We need to work in that direction.  The Government of the land has given incentives in this regard.  I must commend the Ministry and the hon. Prime Minister for that. 

          Previously, out of 125 airports, 107 were running in losses and only eight were profitable.  So, we need to work on regional connectivity.  We have to see that more traffic comes to our place.  We need to create more revenue.  We need to look at cargo and manufacturing.  We need to work with every State for ATF. 

We also need to look at bilateral arrangements.   Our bilateral arrangements are not fundamentally viable for India.  There is no equal access to airports for Indian carriers going abroad.  The foreign carriers have the opportunity to be landing at every airport of India but this opportunity is not there for Indian carriers.  For example, if you fly by Emirates to Dubai, 63,000 seats were available and only 49,613 seats were being used till now.  So, we need to work in that direction. 

The Government of the land is also working on regional connectivity which is called RCS.   It is looking at tiers II and III cities where I come from.  I come from Rajasthan where we have lots of fair weather strips.  We need to work on these strips like Kota, Jhalawar, as also Jodhpur, Bikaner and Udaipur which are big cities.  My friend Anuragji is talking about Kangra.  Such places should be developed and they should be given opportunities.

The Government of the land has also talked about no field airports.  They have also talked about looking at Rule 520 which was mentioned earlier.  They are also looking at liberalizing bilateral routes.  They are also looking at service tax for RCS tickets.  They are also looking at ATF drawn from RCS airports.  So many things are being done by the Government of the land in this regard.  I commend the Narendra Modi Government, the Ministry of Civil Aviation and its officials for that.

Now I move from Aviation to Tourism.  The World Economic Forum report for travel and tourism competitiveness  has shown that we, in India, have moved from 65 to 52 as has been mentioned by other speakers.  Why did it not happen before?  What caused this to happen?   This has happened thanks to the Government. 

The travel and tourism already accounts for 12 per cent of India’s total employment.  Till now only eight million international tourists are coming to our country in comparison to 55 million tourists to China; 27 million to Malaysia; and 21 million to Thailand.  

          Now I would like to quote the Prime Minister.  He said that growth for tourism and tourism for growth.  For that, we have the best natural resources which ranked 17th in the world.  We have diverse culture, intangible heritage and also we have the best business climate on the land.

17.00 hours           In his maiden speech the hon. Prime Minister from the Red Fort had said that tourism provides employment to the poorest of the poor, the auto rickshaw drivers earn something; pakoda sellers earn something and the tea seller also earns something. So, tourism, directly or indirectly, benefits a large population of poor India by providing employment and job opportunities to them.

          My question is this. Is tourism an industry? The previous Government never considered tourism as an industry. This Government considers tourism as an industry. The world tourism contributes 10 per cent and we are working towards 7 per cent. We need to look at that and make tourism as an industry to attain our goals. Foreign tourist arrival is 8.3 million. There is an increase of foreign tourist arrival as compared to last year.  We have also increased our foreign exchange earnings as compared to the previous years. Our foreign exchange earning is at Rs. 1,35,193 crore. We are also looking at FDI equity in the tourism sector which was never done before. In 2014-15, there were about $ 777 . In 2015-16 it was Rs. 865.25 crore, an increase of 3.5 per cent in FDI. We are talking about e-visas. We also have talked about Electronic Travel Authorisation and this number also has increased to about six lakh people. With FDI coming to our country, it is also helping e-commerce sites like Make my trip and other companies.

          India has challenges. We need to increase our share of international tourist arrivals which is presently at 0.7 per cent. France has 7.4 per cent; United States has 6.6 per cent; Spain has 5.7 per cent. We need to look at that aspect. Our neighbours like China have 4.9 per cent and Vietnam has a higher share than us. But in ITR, India has a higher share than our neighbours. It is 1.6 per cent better than Vietnam and Indonesia. We are comparing ourselves with China and US. Today we should think about how many foreign tourists are coming to India and from which countries they are coming. The countries from where they are coming are having great financial difficulties. The European markets are going through a major turmoil. So, we need to look at that. The Ministry has looked at domestic tourism as a contributor to this and taken tourism to greater heights. NERS Tourism has increased and has reached Rs. 129 crore which was not there before.

          The other point is, how can we improve tourism? After having the hardware, we need to look at the software also. The software is our people. The human resources are the mushrooming of good universities and good colleges within India. There are institutes like the IHM and Hospitality Training Institutes under the Ministry and in collaboration with the Ministry of Skill Development have helped this cause. The hon. Prime Minister has rightly said that when tourism is given a boost, then the poorest of the poor gets livelihood. Any tourism project must be aimed at ensuring development, basic infrastructure, train connectivity, air connectivity, water resource management, road connectivity, way-side amenities, accommodation facilities, safety, hygiene and telecommunication facilities. Looking at what happened in Uttarakhand, we need to have SOPS at every place in order to meet up with any catastrophe.

          When we look at tourism as an infrastructure, a good allocation has been made in this regard. A sum of Rs. 900 crore has been allocated for development of tourism infrastructure. My previous speaker talked about PIDDC and Centrally-sponsored schemes for development of tourism infrastructure for various destinations of the circuit. Last year the Central Government on the recommendation of the 14th Finance Commission has helped the States to think about various projects in the various States. Hence, a major allocation of PIDDC has been made as per the Fourteenth Finance Commission by which the Ministry has talked about Swades Darshan Scheme in 2014-15.  Under the Swades Darshan Scheme, the Ministry has a vision to develop theme based tourist circuits on the principles of high tourist value, competitiveness and sustainability in an integrated manner.  We want repeat tourism and good experience for our tourists.  Therefore, we have made 13 thematic circuits under Swades Darshan Scheme.  It has a great thrust on tourism.  

          Likewise, we also want to look into our spiritual drive.   Indians from all walks of life are all of spiritual nature.  So, we want to make sure that our pilgrim sites are beautiful and developed so that they are able to tap the domestic tourists.    Places of domestic tourism have also been talked about.  Under the Swades Darshan, the Government has done 18 projects at the cost of Rs. 1500 crore.  Under the PRASAD Scheme, the Government has taken up nine projects worth Rs. 219 crore and it is still growing. 

          We have to now look at the cities under the PRASAD Scheme.  These cities include Ajmer, Mathura, Varanasi, Puri, Guwahati, Patna and Kanchipuram.

          We also think about clean India.  Our Prime Minister has talked about clean India.  Therefore, we need to think about clean monuments and make sure that there is no graffiti work being done on our monuments.  The Government has created an app called Swachch Paryatan on 22nd February, 2016.  It has launched a mobile application to ensure that this is done.  The Government has also worked with ASI by which Adarsh Monuments are to be cleaned through CSR methods and many more work has been done.

          We also need to look into medical tourism.  Medical tourism is a growing market. We have constituted the National Medical and Wellness Tourism Board on 5th October, 2015.  The GOI has launched Healthcare Portal and Advantage Health Care Centres by which they had fairs in Pragati Maidan and they could have one more in the month of September.

          I must bring to the notice of all the Members about a heartfelt story.  People from our neighbouring countries which do not have the best medical facilities come to India for our best medical facilities.  There is a story about a young boy called Hussain Kadam who came from Iraq to India.  He had a hole in his heart.  He is a seven year old boy who was only 12 kilograms and after the operation in the Asian Hearth Institute in Mumbai, he was able to save himself.  Like this, there are many more things to be done and we are very happy for that.

          I want to think about promotion and publicity. Nothing can happen without promotion and publicity. Today we live in digital India. We have Twitter, Instagram and Face Book.  We have snap chats and many more things to happen.  We need to look at our overseas campaign which is very crucial.   At present, we are 0.68 per cent of the world tourism and in the Twelfth Plan, we envisaged one per cent.  We need to work on that.  The Government has kept Rs. 300 crores for it.  We need to revisit on that aspect and need to give more funding for publicity.  We need to think about global print campaign.  The hon. Prime Minister has talked about the photographs of Incredible India Campaign in June, 2015.  We need to look at food festivals and need to look at other ventures by which we can promote India.

          There are many issues to be spoken here.  But I would like to end by saying about my city.  I come from Rajasthan.  The Government has plans to clean the beautiful Ana Saga Lake and Foy Sagar Lake.  So, cleaning and beautification of both the lakes have to be done.  Development of Pushkar has also been thought about.  Under the Swades Darshan, for the project of Sambhar Lake of Jaipur, an amount of Rs. 84.34 crore has been sanctioned.  Light and sound shows, caravans, night safaris and cycle tracks have been created.

          I urge the Ministry to look at Galta tirth. I also urge the Ministry to look at Ayodhya, which is dear to our heart. I also urge the Ministry to have every religion to be a part of it. We are Indians first and for us our country is the most important.

          In the end I would say:

                                      रण बाँकुरों की वीर गाथाओं का देश भारत,                                       अतिथि देवो भवः की परम्पराओं का देश भारत,                                       वसुदैव कुटुम्बकम् का संदेश भारत,                                       पर्यटन की अनंत संभावनाओं का देश भारत।

 

I am proud to be an Indian. Jai Hind. Jai Bharat. Thank you.

 

PROF. SAUGATA ROY (DUM DUM): I rise to speak on the Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministries of Civil Aviation and Tourism for 2016-17. May I say that at one time flying by aeroplane was considered a prerogative of the rich. But in the last ten to twelve years, flying has been democratised. With an ‘Open Skies Policy’ and variable fares, one can come from Kolkata to Delhi for as low as Rs. 3,500. It is a big change in the country. So, it is not the prerogative of the rich alone.

Secondly, there are certain parts of the country, which are accessible only through planes, like Port Blair in Andaman and most of the places in the North-East. They are very difficult to access by road or rail transport.  Tourism is essential to them.

Now, I will start by making a plea for North-East. Earlier, North-Eastern fares used to be subsidised through the North-Eastern Council. The Government of India used to give a subsidy to the North-East Council, which has been withdrawn. This is putting the ordinary people of North-East who normally fly from Kolkata to Imphal, to Agartala, to Shillong and such places, to great difficulty. The Minister should give some thought to this.

The Minister of Civil Aviation is known to be a man of integrity and he is known for his extreme politeness. But his approach or inactivity is because of a problem. Recently, during the Jat agitation, it became difficult to commute to Chandigarh by road or rail. The airline companies started charging as much as Rs. 60,000 for a single ticket to Chandigarh. I met the Minister of Civil Aviation and told him that he should do something to control these fares. But he said, “No, it is Open Skies Policy, so according to demand prices will rise”. Every year during holiday or festival season, the prices go through the roof. There is no effort by the Ministry of Civil Aviation to control the fares. It believes in a laissez faire attitude which I do not support. I feel that the Government should have a role in having some regulation of fares for the benefit of the common man. I am not saying that he does it out of any personal belief or personal interest.

 श्री निशिकान्त दुबे (गोड्डा) :  ओपन स्काई पालिसी यूपीए सरकार ने इम्प्लीमैंट की है। ...(व्यवधान)

प्रो. सौगत राय:  निशिकांत जी, आप सही कह रहे हैं। यदि देखा जाये तो इससे प्राइज बहुत बढ़ रहा है, एयर फेयर बढ़ रहा है। इसके लिए मंत्री जी को कुछ करना चाहिए। क्या वे चुपचाप बैठे रहें कि यूपीए सरकार ने किया है, इसलिए हमें कुछ नहीं करना? ...(व्यवधान) ऐसा नहीं होना चाहिए। ...(व्यवधान)

 श्री निशिकान्त दुबे :  आपने गलत किया। ...(व्यवधान) आप कहिए कि मनमोहन सिंह जी  सही नहीं थे। ...(व्यवधान)

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB (CUTTACK): The Competition Commission of India should have gone into this subject. The Government has little role to play.

PROF. SAUGATA ROY: The Ministry has been struggling to formulate a new aviation policy for the last two years of the Minister’s tenure. The draft policy was put on the website in October, 2015. This is May, 2016. The draft policy has not yet been finalised. I would like the Minister to expedite the formulation of the final aviation policy so that people who want to enter this line can take policy decisions in this matter.  

          May I say that I am a strong votary of public sector in civil aviation? We had earlier privatised the Delhi and Mumbai airports. The CAG Reports speak about how much ghotala took place during the Delhi and Mumbai airports privatisation, particularly in Delhi where GMR got that huge airport. They have got all the land to build the airport city in exchange of what? I ask you. Airport charges have multiplied. Then, Bangalore and Hyderabad airports were also privatised. Then, the Ministry had brought forward a proposal to privatise Kolkata and Chennai airports along with four other airports which were recently modernised with the Government money.

          I, as president of the Joint Forum of Employees and Officers of Airport Authority, opposed very strongly; we, even threatened to go on a strike. I must thank the Minister that ultimately - for whatever reasons – maybe not because of us, they saw reason and withdrew the proposal of privatisation. My belief is that the public sector can run the airports; it has always been running the airports. We need not give the airports to `fly by night’ operators who suddenly become rich operators, who owe crores of rupees to the banks. They are the ones who are increasing the NPAs of the banks. Why should they have got these airports for free?

          Similarly, I am a strong votary of Air India. I think that the new Chairman and the Managing Director of Air India is doing a great job. He has brought down the losses in Air India to a great extent. Operating loss has been reduced by 34 per cent from 2013-14 to 2014-15. I think, with proper management, Air India can be brought to a level of operating profits. Punctuality of Air India has improved.

          But there are some problems. One is the Dreamliner. There is  a flight from Kolkata to Delhi by Dreamliner - every third day, one Dreamline engine collapses due to some problem. We have saddled with 21 Dreamliners. I do not know what to do. Air India has got only 41 white body jets and 83 narrow body aircraft. These Dreamliners are causing a problem.  The Minister has to take a decision on what is to be done about the Dreamliners.

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB: Who brought these Dreamliners?

PROF. SAUGATA ROY:  It must have been brought during the regime of UPA when you were half in opposition. Now that somebody has brought it, it is your duty to dispose of it if they don’t run well. So, you must do something. You cannot go on harping on the past; you must think about the present and the future because airlines are the things of the future and not of the past. … (Interruptions)

श्री निशिकान्त दुबे:आप ले आइए और उसे ठीक करने की जिम्मेदारी हमारी है। ...(व्यवधान) आप उस समय मंत्री थे। ...(व्यवधान)

प्रो. सौगत राय  :  कुछ तो करना .चाहिए। क्या दिन प्रति दिन नुकसान होता जाएगा? क्या आप कुछ नहीं करेंगे? ...(व्यवधान)

श्री निशिकान्त दुबे : ड्रीम लाइनर में स्पेयर पार्ट नहीं है, इस कारण से तीन ड्रीम लाइनर का सामान निकालकर  18 ड्रीम लाइनर में डाला जा रहा है। ...(व्यवधान)

प्रो. सौगत राय: यह तो एयर इंडिया मैनेजमेंट का कहना है जबकि मंत्री जी का कुछ अलग कहना होगा। ...(व्यवधान) Indian carriers have increased. Domestic flights have increased rapidly by 20.4 per cent in April-November, 2015. International cargo increased by 5.8 per cent and domestic cargo increased by 6.1 per cent.  So, this is all very good. 

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Kindly conclude. The time is not there; only 11 minutes are there for you.

PROF. SAUGATA ROY: Sir, Kolkata Airport is modernized; it is functioning very well.  No effort should be made to privatize it.  I thank the Minister, now Durgapur or Andal Airport has been operationalised.  It is a new feather in the cap of West Bengal.  There is one ATR flight from Durgapur to Kolkata to New Delhi.  We should have more flights. I have been asking the Minister for more flights to Kolkata.  But again his policy is non-interference.  He said: ‘What will I do?’  I said that Kolkata needs a few foreign airlines.  He said, it is for them to decide.  I would urge him that he should be more proactive and interventionist so that Kolkata gets a few more foreign airlines. 

          Sir, nowadays, there are Vistara, GoAir, Jet Airways, IndiGo, Spicejet, AirAsia and Air India Domestic and there are 70 foreign carriers operating in India.  We need more domestic carriers.  Some like Air Deccan and NEPC were closed down.  But, for short hops, now we already have 125 airports under Airports Authority.  You are planning to go in for more airports.  We need airports for short-hop runs. That is why we need more domestic airlines companies.  I would ask the Minister not to follow his policy of non-interference and encourage more domestic players to come into the short distance aviation scheme.

          I do not think that the Finance Minister is very favourably inclined to this Ministry because he has increased the price of aviation turbine fuel (ATF) by 14 per cent.  Now air travel will become costlier because ATF is one-third of the total running cost.  Why should the price be increased?  When international crude prices are dropping, we are increasing the price of aviation turbine fuel.  That is something which I want to say.

          Lastly, I have to say only two things about Tourism Ministry.  I do not think that we have at all exploited the natural and other beauties that are there in India.  India is one country which has Himalayan heights, which has got the sea coast, which has got forests, which has got wildlife, which has got history and which has got variety of culture. Now the BJP Government likes programmes like PRASAD which sounds a little religious.  But the main thing is whether true infrastructure development is taking place in the country.  I shall compliment only two States on tourism.  One is Kerala which has really promoted tourism.  You go to the backwaters of Kerala and spend some time.  You will see that it is really good tourism.  … (Interruptions)

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Kindly conclude now.

PROF. SAUGATA ROY: The other thing is, Jammu and Kashmir have developed our tourism.  But you go to a place like Agra.  Anybody, even a domestic traveller on getting down is first beseiged by tourist guides, then by sellers, hawkers who sell you spurious goods and then by beggars who ark for money.  I would suggest to the Minister that why cannot we have a tourist police.  In the places where tourists are in large number, they should have a tourist police to look after the interests of the tourists so that they are protected and they are not fleeced by dishonest guides, hotel owners, beggars and hawkers.  That is, I think, something very essential to develop. Infrastructure, of course, is left to the States but the Central efforts in developing tourism should show.  If you are in Agra and Varanasi – God’s own country and now that is Modiji’s own country – there is no development in Varanasi.  Same ghats are there and same dirt or filth is there but foreign tourists are coming to Varanasi. … (Interruptions)

HON. CHAIRPERSON : Hon. Member, that is all. 

… (Interruptions)

PROF. SAUGATA ROY: Mahesh Sharmaji, the other thing that I want to mention is that the Bengalis are the biggest tourists in the country.  They are all budget tourists.  They travel throughout the country. Very often I receive phone calls of tourists saying: “We are coming to Kashmir with some tour operator.  The tour operator has left us in the lurch and fled away. We have no money.  We are not being able to pay the hotel bills.  Send some money or something.” Should there not be registration of tour operators who do business over a certain amount?  The Central Government should step in and do registration of tour operators so that they could be pulled. Otherwise, there will be fly-by-night tourist operators that are functioning. He has defined many types of tourism like niche tourism, ocean cruise, river cruise, adventure tourism, medical tourism, wellness tourism, golf tourism and polo tourism.  They are all high-end tourism.  Tourists who come to five-star hotels are very well looked after.  The concerned companies take care of them from the airport.  But there are many foreign tourists who are budget tourists. … (Interruptions)

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Member, Shri Arka Keshari Deo. 

PROF. SAUGATA ROY: These types of tourists should also be looked after very well. 

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Nothing is going on record.

… (Interruptions)…* HON. CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Members, those who want to lay their written speeches on the Table of the House, they can do so. The laid speeches will be treated as a part of the proceedings.

SHRI ARKA KESHARI DEO (KALAHANDI): Thank you, Sir.  I would also like to thank our party leaders for giving me this opportunity to speak on the Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministries of Civil Aviation and Tourism for 2016-17. 

          Tourism is a very important issue.  This sector relates to the entire system of India.  Tourists are the people who are contributing to a great extent in the economic growth of India.  In the year 2014, our GDP growth was USD 7.6 trillion.  This will reach to USD 11.4 trillion in 2025.  I must say that first the tourism comes and then the civil aviation. Without tourists, the flights will go empty. So, I must start with tourism.

          Tourism in India is playing an important role. Like my previous speakers mentioned, from rikshawalas to pakodawalas, everybody gets benefited from tourism.  I come from Kalahandi District of Odisha.  There is a lot of scope for developing tourism in different parts of Odisha like coastline tourism, monument tourism and rural tourism. There are five States like U.P., Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh which have done excellent job in tourism. They are the topmost States in generating money from tourism.  Sir, the previous Government and the present Government have introduced ‘e-tourist’ which is benefiting foreign tourists to come and visit India.  There are 113 Centres and 16 airports which are covering e-tourist.  Many other countries across the world have not been included under ‘e-tourism’.  Tourists from Singapore, Europe, Thailand, etc. have not been included under ‘e-tourism’.  I would urge upon the Minister of Tourism to include those countries which have not been included under ‘e-tourist’.

          Medical tourism is one of the greatest tourist sectors through which a lot of foreigners come and get good medical facilities in India.  There are 143 Centres which have been started in India and 99 Centres are there in other States. Twenty-eight Ayurveda centres have been included under this facility.

   

17.31 hours                        (Shri Pralhad Joshi in the Chair)           Sir, we must focus in rural tourism, which generates a lot of developments taking place in villages.  Tourists can visit many villages in Odisha and other parts of the country like Kerala.  We need good communication facilities to reach those villages.  We can develop small airports in Odisha and also in other States. 

          Handicrafts come under village tourism.  A lot of bamboo products are made.  Several handicraft items are made.  So, we must promote village tourism so that many foreign tourists can come to our villages and learn their crafts and cultures.  In Sambalpur, several handicraft items are made.  In Kalahandi, people are doing weaving, and they are waiting for the foreign tourists to come and learn their culture, learn their technique of stitching and producing silk products.

          Sir, I would like to request the Minister of Tourism to take special interest on Odisha because many places in our State can be focussed.  I would request the hon. Minister of Tourism to take suggestions from all Members of Parliament.  Every Member of Parliament can give one suggestion each for developing their area as a tourist spot.  Now, we are focussing only a few places of tourism and spending money only in those places.  The Minister can take suggestions from all Members of Parliament.  It will be beneficial if the Government gives Rs.2 crore or Rs.3 crore to each Member of Parliament per year for developing the area in their own district as a tourist place.  When we come to heritage tourism, hospitality is important.  Rajasthan is doing very well.  We are only promoting Rajasthan.  We should promote Odisha, Karnataka and other States which have got a lot of heritage and old buildings, which can be developed in a proper manner. Tourists are waiting to visit and discover those places which they have never discovered.I know a few places in regard to which the files are pending in the Ministry because the staff is not taking interest in tourism. 

Sir, you must be aware that there are a few forts which are ruined.  We should take suggestions of all MPs wherever old monuments and historical places are there and we can encourage MPs and local bodies to suggest and give monies for those places. We must see 30 years ahead.  Last year, some tourists had come to Odisha.  They did not know how to travel to tourist places.  We should also include trains.  We are only including airlines in the tourism sector.  We must include travel by trains because trains play a major role in tourism.  We must see that also.  We have natural hotspots in my own district at Kalahandi, Gudahandi and Dokri Chanchra, Phulrijhar and Patalganga at Naupada district, Narsinghnath, Puri, Harishankar,  etc.  Our Odisha Government had also given proposals to give money to those sectors and develop those old monuments which are really being neglected. 

I request that whatever are the demands of our Odisha and our Odisha MPs, should be given special interest and special funds should be provided to the State of Odisha.  We should see the future and I hope we have a better future in tourism because tourism connects all the people and also increases the business.  Let tourists sleep in good hotels.  They go in cars and buses.  Everything is influenced by the arrival of tourists.  I have a request to the hon. Minister to take special interest in Odisha and in particular Kalahandi district. 

Now, I must come to the Ministry of Civil Aviation.  First of all, Odisha is being neglected.  It is neglected like anything.  Bhubaneshwar Airport has been declared as an international airport. But it has not yet started.  It was told that international flights would come and land in Bhubaneshwar but they are landing in Delhi. I do not know why it is called an international airport.  The Minister is doing a very good job but he is neglecting Odisha.  I request the hon. Minister to take special interest because Odisha is a State which has given all the facilities and benefits for flights, and tourism sector has been contributing a lot of money, and a lot of tourists are travelling and coming by airlines. A good interest should be taken in the Biju Patnaik Airport which is international and an international direct flight to Singapore or to the Middle East should start.

I come down, and I must thank the Minister that he has done a PPP agreement to develop Jharsuguda Airport in Odisha.

SHRI BHARTRUHARI MAHTAB : He is a friend of Odisha. At times, he is in difficulty in the sense that, perhaps, it would be construed that he is becoming more favourable for our State. That is why, he is showing restraint.

SHRI ARKA KESHARI DEO: The Government has declared to develop Jharsuguda Airport. The building and development work is happening in a very slow manner.  So, I request the Minister to take it seriously because many companies have come up nearby Jharsuguda, Sambalpur, Talcher and in those regions. People are waiting to use the facilities which you all have declared to Odisha. So, the Jharsuguda Airport should be developed.

The fares have gone up this year because the money in dollar value has gone up and price has increased because of oil. Now in the international market the prices of fuel have come down. So, I request the Minister to make the fare less because the price of oil has come down. So, I request the fares for the tickets should also come down.

          The major player is the Indian Airlines which has been stopped for business class. I do not know why it has been stopped. I think all the MPs and all the other civilians who are industrialists, are travelling in business class, specially in Air India. They are deprived of these benefits. They are looking for another private agency, a private plane which is having the business class. So, we are losing the facilities and we are losing the money, income which the Air India should get.

          At last, I must say to the Minister that in the 40s’, we had a vision; people had a vision in World War time; and they made small, small airports in many districts in Odisha. So, I request the Minister to take up a few airstrips and develop them in a rapid manner.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Keshari Deo Ji, please conclude now.

SHRI ARKA KESHARI DEO: Please give me one minute.

SHRI KALIKESH N. SINGH DEO (BOLANGIR): Sir, it is his maiden speech.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: That is why, because of your request, instead of seven minutes, I have allowed him more than 15 minutes.

SHRI TATHAGATA SATPATHY (DHENKANAL): He spoke about Karnataka also.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: He has spoken about Karnataka also, and more about Odisha also.

SHRI ARKA KESHARI DEO: There are 10 districts which are having lots of airstrips which can be developed in a good manner and lots of planes can come in, and thereby the district tourism also can improve. … (Interruptions)

          The Balasore MP is demanding an airstrip to be developed. So, please take it in your mind and try to develop that. Thank you.

SHRI BHARTRUHARI  MAHTAB: Sir, thank you for allowing him to speak for such a long time.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: It is because of your recommendation, it has been done.

*श्री अजय मिश्रा टेनी (खीरी) ः  भारतीय जनता पार्टी के नेतृत्व में एनडीए की सरकार लगातार प्रत्येक क्षेत्र में देश व देश के लोगों के विकास व जीवन स्तर को सुधारने के लिये काम कर रही है ।  ऐसे ही हवाई-सेवाओं के विस्तार व सुविधाये बढ़ाने के साथ देश में मौजूद प्रचूर पर्यटन की संभावनाओं के लिये भी सार्थक प्रयास किये जा रहे हैं ।

          मैं आपके माध्यम से अपने लोक सभा क्षेत्र हेतु सरकार से मंत्रालय से संबंधित निम्न कार्यों को किये जाने की मांग करता हूं ।

          1.       लखीमपुर खीरी पर्यटन की दृ­िष्ट से महत्वपूर्ण है, यहां गोस्वामी तुलसीदास की हस्तलिपि में लिखी रामचरित मानस की पाण्डुलिपि के कुछ भाग सहित गोला गोकरननाथ, गजमोचन नाथ, खैरीगढ़ स्थित माँ काली व रूकमणी मंदिर, संकटा देवी व लिलौरी नाथ जैसे महाभारत कालीन मंदिरों के अलावा खैरीगढ, सिंगारी, ओयल स्टेट में स्थित भूल-भूलैया, महल, मेडक मंदिर जैसी कई एतिहासिक इमारते भी मौजूद हैं ।  जो पर्यटन को बढ़ावा देने हेतु बहुत ही महत्पूर्ण है।  साथ ही दुधवा नेशनल पार्क जो टाईगर,व हिरणों की कई प्रजातियों के लिए जाना जाता है यह वनों व नदियों से घिरा हुआ बेहद खूबसूरत क्षेत्र है अतः मेरा अनुरोध है कि लखीमपुर को पर्यटन स्थल घो­िषत करने के साथ ही भारत सरकार की प्रस्तावित रामायण सर्किट योजना से जोड़ा जाये ।

          2. मेरे लोक सभा क्षेत्र लखीमपुर में स्थित पलिया एयरपोर्ट (ब्लॉक पलिया) में व्यवसायिक उड़ाने प्रारंभ की जाये व कम से कम एक उड़ान दिल्ली वाया लखनऊ प्रतिविदन प्रारंभ की जाये ।

*श्री जसवंतसिंह सुमनभाई भाभोर (दाहोद) ः  देश के विकास के साथ-साथ देश में नागरिक उड्डयन सैक्टर बड़ी तेजी के साथ आगे बढ़ रहा है। भविष्य में इस सैक्टर का विस्तार होने की अपार संभावनाएं हैं। 114 वर्ष पूर्व देश में पहली हवाई सेवा दिल्ली से कराची 1912 में हुई थी। तब से लेकर अब तक नागरिक उड्डयन सैक्टर में कई बदलाव आए हैं। पहले हवाई जहाज में यात्रा अमीर वर्ग करते थे, क्योंकि हवाई जहाज का किराया बहुत ज्यादा होता था, परंतु देश में प्राइवेट एयर ऑपरेटरें के आने के बाद 2500 से लेकर 5000 रूपये तक खर्च कर मध्यम वर्ग द्वारा भी हवाई यात्रा की जा सकती है। देश में 475 हवाई अड्डे एवं हवाई पट्टियां हैं, जिनमें से केवल 127 हवाई अड्डों का उपयोग हो रहा है, जिसमें 13 अंतर्राष्ट्रीय हवाई अड्डे हैं। दिल्ली एवं मुंबई के बीच हवाई यातायात सबसे ज्यादा है।

          पिछले दो सालों में नागरिक उड्डयन सैक्टर में 17.5 प्रतिशत की दर से बढ़ोत्तरी हुई है। इस बढ़ोत्तरी से सरकार के राजस्व और रोज़गार में वृद्धि हुई है। देश में प्राइवेट एयर ऑपरेटर की हवाई सेवाओं में भी बढ़ोत्तरी हुई है जिसमें इंडिगों की हिस्सेदारी 27 प्रतिशत के करीब है। इन हवाई कंपनियों में काफी प्रतियोगिताएं हैं और लोगों को कम किराये पर हवाई यात्रा करने के अवसर मिल रहे हैं। यह किराया रेलवे के फर्स्ट क्लास से काफी कम है। परंतु देश में जब छुट्टियां और त्यौहार होते हैं तो प्राइवेट एयर ऑपरेटर कंपनियां हवाई किरायों को बढ़ाकर जनता का शोषण कर रही है। दिल्ली से अहमदाबाद का किराया 25 हज़ार रूपए का चार्ज करती है और कभी-कभी मांग बढ़ने पर एक किराए में अनाप-शनाप वृद्धि कर देते हैं। सरकार को इस बात का ध्यान रखना होगा कि जो किराया प्राइवेट एयर ऑपरेटरों के माध्यम से वेबसाईटों में दिखाया जाता है, उन पर कड़ी निगरानी की जानी चाहिए। क्योंकि यह देखा गया है कि नियमों के अनुसार वेबसाईटों पर किराया नहीं दिखाया जाता है, जो नागरिकों का अधिकार है। देश के नागरिक उड्डयन मंत्रालय के अंतर्गत सरकारी उपक्रम की एयर इंडिया की हिस्सेदारी समय के साथ कम होती जा रही है एवं एयर इंडिया घाटे में भी है। सरकार को एयर इंडिया की उड़ान संबंधी सेवाओं का इस तरह से बनाना चाहिए, जिससे यह लाभ कमा सके और लाभ कमाकर और अधिक विमान खरीद सके। देश में करीब 475 छोटे-छोटे हवाई अड्डे और हवाई पट्टियां है, जिसमें केवल 127 हवाई अड्डों का प्रयोग किया जा रहा है। देश के विकास के साथ कई शहरों में हवाई सेवा की मांग बढ़ रही हैं। जिन शहरों में हवाई सेवा की मांग बढ़ रही हैं, उन शहरों में छोटे-छोटे विमानों द्वारा हवाई सेवा आरंभ की जानी चाहिए। मेरे गृह राज्य गुजरात के जूनागढ़ के केशोद एवं कांडला हवाई अड्डे बेकार पड़े हुए है, उनका उपयोग भी किया जाना चाहिए। मेरे संसदीय क्षेत्र दाहोद में हवाई अड्डे की सरकार से मांग करता हॅं।

          देश में सरकार ने हवाई अड्डों का संचालन करने के लिए ठेके पर दिए हुए हैं, जिनकी सुरक्षा केंद्र सरकार को करनी पड़ती है। हालांकि इस सुरक्षा का चार्ज लिया जाता है परंतु इस चार्ज का भुगतान बड़ी देरी से किया जाता है तथा कभी-कभी तो कई हवाई अड्डे की सुरक्षा के चार्ज सालों से लंबित है। सरकार को इस तरह का तंत्र बनाना चाहिए जिससे नागरिक उड्डयन मंत्रालय द्वारा लिये जाने वाले चार्जों का भुगतान समय पर हो। इसके लिए सरकार को सख्त कदम उठाने चाहिए।

          इसी के साथ, मैं नागरिक उड्डयन मंत्रालय की मांगों का समर्थन करता हूं।

*SHRIMATI KAVITHA KALVAKUNTLA (NIZAMABAD):  The total expenditure on the Ministry of Civil Aviation for 2016-17 is estimated at Rs. 2,591 crore.  Of the total expenditure, the highest allocation is towards Air India at 66% (Rs. 1,713 crore).  This is followed by allocation towards the subsidy for operation of Haj charters at 17% (Rs. 450 crore), and allocation towards the DGCA at 6% (Rs. 157 crore).

Total allocations towards the Ministry have decreased by 38% from the revised estimates of 2015-16. The expenditure of the Ministry in 2015-16 (revised estimates) was 37% lower than the actual expenditure in 2014-15. The Ministry incurs about 31% revenue expenditure and 69% capital expenditure. In 2016-17, while revenue expenditure of the Ministry is expected at Rs.810 crore, capital expenditure is expected at Rs.1,780 crore.

In 2016-17, investment through extra budgetary resources (market borrowings, institutional financing, etc.) is estimated at Rs. 2,417 crore. In 2014-15, investment through extra budgetary resources was Rs. 1,745 crore. In 2015-16 (revised estimates) this amount was at Rs. 2,757 crore which is 58% higher than the actual expenditure in 2014-15.

In his Budget Speech of 2016-17, the Finance Minister made the following announcements regarding the Civil aviation sector: Excise duty on Aviation Turbine Fuel (ATF) will be increased from 8% to 14%.  However, ATF for supply to aircraft under the Regional Connectivity Scheme airports (airports in Tier II and Tier III cities) will continue to attract 8% excise duty.

An action plan for the revival of unserved and underserved airports is being prepared. The central government will partner with state governments to develop airports for regional connectivity.  Further, 10 of the 25 nonfunctional air strips will be developed.  Certain changes have also been proposed towards the maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) of aircrafts. These include: (i) tools procured for MRO have been exempted from customs and excise duty (subject to certification by the DGCA); (ii) restriction of one year for the utilization of duty free parts will be removed; and (iii) foreign aircraft brought to India for MRO work will be allowed to stay up to six months or as extended by the DGCA.

The civil aviation sector in India (both domestic and international) has been growing at the rate of 20% per annum. This can be attributed to the entry of low cost carriers (LCCs), expanding middle-income group, and growing economic activity in the country. The private sector has also become a big participant in the sector.  Until recently, development, maintenance and ownership of all airport facilities in the country was vested with the Airports Authority of India (AAI), a body under the Ministry which is responsible for creating, upgrading, maintaining, and managing civil aviation infrastructure in the country. Currently it manages 125 airports consisting of 46 operational domestic airports, 8 customs airports, 21 international airports, 19 civil enclaves, and 31 non-operational domestic airports.

With the opening up of the airport sector for private participation, six airports under the Public Private Partnership (PPP) mode have been established. These are Hyderabad, Bangalore, Delhi, Mumbai, Cochin and Nagpur. Moreover, currently around 60% of air traffic is handled by airports under PPP mode and the rest by AAI airports.

The Ministry released a revised draft National Civil Aviation Policy in October 2015. An earlier draft version of the policy was released in November 2014. Key features of the draft policy include: Creation of an eco-system to enable 300 million domestic ticketing by 2022 and 500 million by 2027. International ticketing must increase to 200 million by 2027. The 5/20 Rule stipulates that for Indian carriers to fly abroad, they must have flown on domestic routes for five years and have a fleet of at least 20 aircrafts.  Suggestions have been invited on whether to: (i) continue the Rule as it is, or (ii) to abolish the Rule, or (iii) to require domestic airlines to accumulate certain level of domestic flying credit before being able to fly to specific parts of the world.

Currently the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) business of Indian carriers is about Rs. 5,000 crore. 90% of this is spent outside India in countries such as Sri Lanka, Singapore, etc. In order to reduce this outsourcing, the draft policy seeks to provide tax incentives on MRO activities.

The Regional Connectivity Scheme (RCS) will come into effect on April 1, 2016. On RCS routes, for a one-hour flight, the Ministry will target an all-inclusive airfare of up to Rs. 2,500 per passenger, indexed to inflation.  RCS will be made operational only in states which reduce VAT on aviation turbine fuel (ATF) at airports to 1% or less.

The Ministry spends majority of its funds on Air India (about 66% in 2016-17).  For the last several years, Air India’s financial health has been poor. According to the Ministry, reasons for Air India’s losses include : (i) the adverse impact of exchange rate variation due to the weakening of Indian Rupee, (ii) high interest burden, (iii) increase in competition, especially from low cost carriers, and (iv) high fuel prices.

The National Transport Development Policy Committee (NTDPC), in its report in 2013, had observed that Air India has been struggling to make a transition from a monopoly market to a competitive one.  It has been struggling to improve its efficiency, and compete with the private airlines. In order to bail out the company, the government had approved the Turnaround Plan (TAP) and Financial Restructuring Plan (FRP) of Air India in April 2012.  Under the plans, the government would infuse equity into Air India subject to certain milestones.  The equity infusion included financial support towards the repayment of the principal, as well as the interest payments on the government loans for aircraft acquisition.

Under the TAP/FRP, the central government was to infuse Rs.30,231 crore till 2020-21. Till 2015-16, the Ministry has infused an equity amount of Rs. 22,280 crore.  In 2016-17, the Ministry has allocated Rs. 1,713 crore towards Air India, which is 43% (Rs. 1,303 crore) lower than the commitment as per TAP. In 2015-16 (revised estimates) allocation to Air India was Rs. 3,300 crore which was 23% lower than the TAP commitment of Rs. 4,277 crore.

In 2014-15, the government had invested Rs. 5,780 crore in India. The Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture examining the 2016-17 budget estimates has observed that reducing the equity infusion in Air India might adversely affect the financial situation of the company. It recommended that the government must allocate the amount committed under TAP.

The Ministry had also observed that due to reduction of equity infusion in Air India as per the Turn Around Plan (TAP), Air India has to arrange funds through borrowings which increased its financial burden.  As of March 31, 2015 the total debt of Air India was at Rs. 51,367.07 crore. This includes Rs. 22,574.09 crore outstanding on account of aircraft loans.

Six airports in the country are under the PPP model.  Further, these airports handle around 60% of air traffic (the rest is handled by AAI airports).  Some of these airports such as Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, etc. have been considered to be successful PPP projects. With the passenger traffic having trebled in the last 10 years, and more growth expected in the upcoming years, most airports will need to expand their capacity, and new airports will be required.

Achieving these growth numbers may not be possible with the conventional procurement methods, and will require PPP frameworks to provide better services. The Working Group on Civil Aviation had observed that to manage the projected growth in passenger airlines by 2030, investment of Rs. 7 lakh crore (at 2011 prices) will be required.

Issues around private participation in the sector are related to (i) the costs incurred in development of airports, (ii) tariff models, and (iii) charging of user development fees.

With regard to private airlines, anti-competitive pricing has been an issue. For example, recently, the Competition Commission of India imposed penalties worth Rs. 258 crore on a few private airline companies for colluding on fuel surcharge costs. According to the Committee on Revisiting and Revitalizing, the PPP model of Infrastructure Development (Chair: Dr. Vijay Kelkar), the Indian civil aviation sector will need to develop better PPP frameworks in order to achieve the expected growth numbers.

In order to improve PPP framework, it is recommended (i) to develop a bidding criteria that also considers non-aeronautical revenues, (ii) providing guidance norms for design and costing of facilities, capital expenditure and maintenance costs, and (iii) setting financial structuring norms for assessing revenues, costs, source of funds. The Standing committee on Transport, Tourism, and Culture had recommended that instead of privatizing airports, efforts should be made to strengthen AAI so that it can manage the airports more efficiently.  The Committee had also observed that private airports provide services at a prohibitive cost to the passengers and tend to increase the user fee.

The Committee on revitalizing PPP frameworks had also observed that the airline sector has multiple regulators (AERA, DGCA, etc.). The DGCA is responsible for licensing of airline crew, certification of airline operators, investigation of incidents and minor accidents, implementation of safety measures, and formulation of aviation legislation. The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority determines the tariff for (i) aeronautical services, (ii) development fee for major airports, (iii) passenger service fee (to be used by airport licensees for infrastructure and facilitation of passengers).  Overlap in the functions of these regulatory bodies has led to problems in certain cases, resulting in decision making which may not resolve the issues.  The Committee had recommended that all regulatory functions in the sector should be looked at by one body.  This would ensure open access for all operators, and prevent a monopolistic nature of certain activities such as access to fuel.

Aviation Turbine Fuel pricing in India is deregulated, and the price is determined by the public sector oil companies as per the international prices and other market conditions. Components other than the fuel cost that are included in the pricing of ATF include: basic cost of fuel, freight costs, excise duty, and state taxes.  These components increase the cost of ATF by about 70-75%.  Value Added Tax charged by states on ATF is in the range of 0-30%. ATF constitutes about 40-50% of the operating cost of an airline.

The cost of ATF in the international market has been declining since 2012. ATF prices have reduced from $123/BBL in 2012-13 to $ 63/BBL in 2016-17 (average prices). According to the Ministry, with the decrease in ATF prices the cost of operation for airlines has come down. However, price of ATF in India is higher than the price prevailing in competing hub.

ATF pricing in different countries, as per Location Price/Kilolitre (USD) are: India- 1,400$, Singapore- 825$,  Bangkok – 880, Kuala Lumpur – 810 and Dubai- 840.

It has also been observed that high fuel costs also affect the airlines’ abilities to invest in other services such as buying more aircraft, and servicing more routes.  Further, high taxes on ATF impedes the ability of Indian international airports to compete and develop into international hubs for plane services such as maintenance, fuel and re-hauling.

Does the government plan to meet the commitments for the restructuring of air India and also to revitalize the “PPP” framework. Whether Khelkar Committee report's recommendations have been accepted by the Government.

In Telangana, Kothagudem, Warangal and Nizamabad airports need to be sanctioned.  Hyderabad needs a second airport.  “Ramayan Circuit” should focus on South Indian States.  Also “Buddhist Circuit” and “Jain Circuit” are needed.  New State like Telangana needs a special drive from Archeological Survey of India.

 

*SHRIMATI  BUTTA RENUKA (KURNOOL):  In the last few decades, Tourism has grown to be a major Industry across the world. It is not an exaggeration to say that few countries solely survive on tourism. Since ages, India has been on the tourism map as many foreign tourists and people within have been moving from place to place in search of knowledge, spirituality and inquisitiveness in the name of voyages and pilgrimages. In modern terminology the past could be referred to as religious and spiritual tourism.  Slowly leisure tourism has picked up within the country and successive governments have contributed in projecting India as a tourist destination.

It is not out of place to mention that in yesterday’s news paper there is a report on Sri Lankan tourism which says tourism revenue has grown eight fold in the last 10 years and foreign exchange earnings from tourism ranked third. It shows the potential for our country with huge geographical reach and large population.

          I feel India being such a vast country with lot of tourist potential with number of places to showcase has not reached even a fraction of its potential in terms of tourism contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP). India has variety of concepts to offer to the world.  Religious Tourism, Spiritual Tourism, Leisure Tourism, Medical Tourism, Rural Tourism, Adventure Tourism, Eco-Tourism, etc. However, to exploit the potential, we need to develop the necessary infrastructure so that the tourist would visit us and go back fully satisfied to spread the positive image of our country.

Tourism is a major source of economic growth. It provides direct and indirect employment to number of people. The image of the country is better showcased through the promotion of tourism. 

Rightly, Civil Aviation and Tourism are under one Ministry. For a tourist, connectivity in shortest possible time is the main concern. Especially for foreign tourists, air connectivity is critical. I am sorry to say that we are far behind in terms of air connectivity. Many of our tourist destinations have no airports and few places though are having air landing facility, civilian flights are not being operated like in Agra.

I request the Minister for Civil Aviation to take this as a challenge and initiate steps for more airports at important locations of tourist and religious importance.  The existing Air capacity is short during peak travel months especially from international tourism originating destinations. Steps shall be taken for introducing direct flights between Indian cities and the important international destinations.

At the same, time I must admit and acknowledge that the earlier BJP government has done a tremendous job in improving road connectivity. Most parts of our country are well connected by good roads. This has resulted in booming passenger car industry and substantial savings in oil imports.  This has also given a boost to domestic tourism.

We need to construct and improve highways linking world heritage sites and places of tourism importance. Road connectivity shall be developed across the country. Similarly, though train connectivity to most of the tourist places is established, passenger trains are still in shortage and in greater demand.  This is a serious issue which need to be addressed at the earliest.

I request the government to introduce Special tourist trains and other trains like Shatabdi and Rajdhani connecting places of tourism importance which shall be taken up on a priority basis.

Co-ordination from all the departments like tourism, civil aviation, railways, environment and forests will ensure required infrastructure development and will promote both domestic and international tourism.

Our country has already recognized the role of private investment including foreign direct investment in the development of the country.  The tourism sector also has to an extent privatized its operations by divesting some of the government owned tourism related projects. There is a need to solicit private investment in large tourism projects by creating conducive investment climate in the country.

The large number of domestic population of this country itself is big source of tourism development. The growing middle class in the country with financial affordability are willing to spend to fulfill their desires both religious and leisure.  For them, necessary infrastructure has to be developed for travel and stay which is economical and comfortable.

We need to leverage our strength as one of the world’s most ancient civilizations and our rich and diverse heritage to attract the international travel market. We have to position and maintain tourism development as national priority activity.

I strongly recommend to identify and develop integrated travel circuits with infrastructure of international standard.  I suggest that an exclusive corporation on the lines of IRCTC shall be formed to take care of air tourism which will have to design packages for international traveler and for domestic high net worth individuals. 

We need to promote India tourism brand across the world and support this initiative with development of appropriate infrastructure to sustain the brand image.

Lastly, I strongly recommend to develop religious tourism by improving the infrastructure and designing special packages covering important religious places in the newly created Andhra Pradesh like Tirupati, Srisailam, Puttaparti which are in the backward region of Rayalaseema along with other places like Annavaram, Simhachalam, etc.   SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR (MUMBAI NORTH WEST): Thanks for giving me an opportunity to speak on the working of the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism.

          At the outset, I would say that the hon. Minister of Civil Aviation, Shri Gajapathi Raju is quite attentive and has been doing. Sir, I want to mention that a majority of staff of Air India and Indian Airlines belongs to Mumbai – though the Headquarters of Air India has shifted to New Delhi – de facto the headquarters and its working is lying at Mumbai. That is why we are very close to the Air India staff as well as the officers.

          The national flag carrier Air India including its subsidiaries is a big organisation in the Civil Aviation Ministry. In this connection, I want to highlight some burning issues of Air India and its employees.

          In 2007, Air India Limited and Indian Airlines were merged and rechristened as Air India Limited. Prior to merger, the commercial and administrative headquarters of Air India was located at Mumbai. After the merger, the entire commercial and administrative units of the new entity have been shifted to New Delhi which is against the agreement at the time of merger.

          Air India headquarters building in Delhi is in a dilapidated condition and it is very congested, whereas Air India headquarters in Mumbai is located at Nariman Point which is an iconic building. It has been rented out at a very meagre rent, that is, Rs.300 per square feet.

          Air India Transport Services Limited (AIATSL) is a subsidiary company floated by Air India to carry out luggage and passenger handling, security affairs and ground handling. Five thousand employees were engaged by AIATSL in the year 2003 on contract. It is time now to make them permanent.

          AIATSL employees are being given step motherly treatment. They are given used uniforms. They do not get medical facilities. Subsidised canteen facility has not been provided to them. There is no changing room available. Footwear safety shoes and raincoats have not been provided to them. They are deprived of night shift allowance and paternity leave. Labour Welfare Fund contribution as per the Labour Welfare Act is not applicable. Though the minimum wages policy is applicable, it is not implemented. This is a very serious act on the part of AIATSL.  In fact, there is a need to revise their wages forthwith. There is also a need to provide interest free loan facility to the staff.  Even though they are skilled workers, they are getting lesser wages. Therefore, there is a need to revise their wages and accordingly pay fixation should also be done.

          There are about 5000 plus employees in AIATSL. If the demands of the employees are not met, there is a possibility that they may resort to strike which will post a challenge to Air India flight operations.   Air India being the parent organisation should immediately constitute a committee to look into the demands and grievances of AIATSL employees.

          The entire Air India functioning, especially the ground handling work is being effectively carried out by AIATSL staff. If their demands are not met with, the entire functioning of Air India operations will be paralysed, which will be a threat to Air India in times to come. Therefore, I request the Civil Aviation Ministry to look into it on a priority basis and address the same.

          Captain A.K. Sharma, who is the present CEO of AIATSL is totally ineffective and adamant. He is neglecting the employees’ grievances. I, therefore, demand of the Civil Aviation Ministry that he should be relieved and relinquished from the post immediately as there is a hue and cry among the employees about his functioning.   AIATSL should stop outsourcing jobs to outside agencies and get them done through AIATSL’s own staff recruited locally, which will save cost for the company.

          Dreamliner aircraft are being operated from Delhi whereas their maintenance workshop is based at Mumbai. This is also causing losses to Air India. When an empty aircraft is flown from Delhi to Mumbai, Air India has to pay rupees two crore to the Mumbai Municipal Corporation towards octroi duty. This is also causing huge losses to Air India.

          Air India cabin crew returns to Mumbai after performing 20 to 22 hours of duty. Then, the very next day, Air India drafts them for duty which is against the spirit of the DGCA rules.

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR: Sir, I wish to raise last two or three points. I am not touching tourism because it is impossible to do so due to time constraint. I am very much concerned about the issue of employees.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Okay, you conclude within two minutes.

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR: Yes, Sir.

          There is a shortage of 600 cabin crew in the wide-body aircraft. This issue needs to be addressed.

          About 14 security officers of Air India were transferred from Mumbai base to Delhi last year against the transfer policy. They are not getting outstation allowance. They are maintaining two establishments – one at Mumbai and the other at Delhi, thereby incurring avoidable expenditure.

          There is a substantial number of passengers who prefer to fly from Mumbai to foreign countries, but Air India operates its international flights from Delhi, which discourages them to fly by Air India. So, they choose other airlines which have direct flights from Mumbai to foreign countries.

          In case of Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai, slums around airport are a matter of grave concern from the point of view of security of airport and also because of the pathetic living conditions in slums. In the last six years, this airport has been developed. As per the development agreement, they are unable to develop the entire land due to encroachment. Recently, the Central Government and the Maharashtra Government have framed guidelines to rehabilitate slum-dwellers. I would request the hon. Minister to rehabilitate all slum-dwellers. Already, some flats are lying vacant.

          Juhu Mumbai Airport is the oldest airport in the country. Everyday at least 100 helicopter flights operate from this airport. This number ought to be increased, but due to non-availability of parking place, the number of flights could not be increased. There is Airport Authority’s 29 acres of land in the area adjacent to this airport – with 4,000 hutments in Indira Nagar and 12,000 hutments in Nehru Nagar -  which has been encroached by the slum-dwellers. Therefore, the slum-dwellers living here need to be rehabilitated on the lines of slum-dwellers living near Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport in Mumbai.

          With these words, I conclude about the aviation sector.  Actually, I want to talk about tourism also. Am I allowed to lay that portion of my speech?

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Once you speak, it is not allowed.

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR : Sir, tourism is a separate part. The discussion has been clubbed for both the Ministries together.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: It is the decision of hon. Speaker.

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR: Due to time constraint, I cannot talk on tourism.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: You may hand over the slip to the hon. Minister directly.

SHRI GAJANAN KIRTIKAR : Okay,           Thank you very much.

                                                                                     

*SHRI RABINDRA KUMAR JENA (BALASORE): I take this opportunity to objectively examine the Demands for Grants for the Ministry of Civil Aviation (2016-17).  The Ministry of Civil Aviation is responsible for the formulation and implementation of national policies and schemes in the civil aviation sector.  It is also responsible for the regulation and development of the sector.  Its functions include establishing new airports, maintaining and upgrading existing airports, regulating carriage of traffic by air and ensuring civil aviation safety and security.  It also manages several regulatory bodies and offices that are under its administrative control, such as the Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA), Airports Authority of India, and the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority.  Given how the Ministry is virtually responsible for ensuring the smooth functioning of the entire sector, for ensuring a fine balance of public service and private competitiveness, for contributing to infrastructure development in the country (through new airports and technology upgradation), and for maintaining security and safety at the country’s airports, it is essential that the Ministry’s Demands for Grants for 2016-17 are examined in detail.

          At the outset, I’d like to bring the notice of the House an alarming fact in relation to the functioning of the Ministry: the Government has been struggling for more than 3 years to find a suitable candidate to head the department responsible for security at airports, a lapse that appears all the more glaring in the wake of the recent terrorist attack at Brussels airport. Aviation analysts have consistently mentioned that the Government needs to take airport security more seriously, and that the post for the Head of the Bureau of Civil Aviation Security is still vacant is a matter of serious concern.  I urge the Ministry to take immediate notice and take all possible steps to strengthen security measures at our airports.

I now turn to examining the Ministry’s finances: it is surprising to note how total allocations towards the Ministry have decreased by 38% from the revised estimates of 2015-16. Again, the expenditure of the Ministry in 2015-16 (revised estimates) was 37% lower than the actual expenditure in 2014-15. Also, Capital Expenditure in 2015-16 (Revised Estimates) is 42% lower than the actual expenditure for 2014-15, which is a clearly disappointing trend.

That an action plan for the revival of unserved and undeserved airports is being prepared is definitely welcome - that the Central Government will partner with State Governments to develop airports for regional connectivity, and that 10 of the 25 non-functional air strips will be developed, is a positive step towards taking a holistic approach to developing the civil aviation industry.

While framing policy, a long-term framework should be kept in mind – due to an economic slowdown in Europe and North America, and growth in the Asia Pacific region in the last few years, the global air traffic is seen shifting to the Asia Pacific region.  Global air traffic forecasts for 2030 have reported that India and China will become the epicenter of supply and distribution. Is India prepared?  The Government should outline a clear, time-bound strategy in relation to tapping onto the enormous potential that is slowly (and surely) being generated by international developments.

Currently, the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul business of Indian carriers is about Rs. 5,000 crores.  90% of this is spent outside India in countries such as Sri Lanka and Singapore.  In order to reduce such outsourcing, the Draft Aviation Policy rightly seeks to provide tax incentives on MRO activities.

Let me now turn to an important issue that requires immediate attention: Poor financial health of Air India – The Ministry spends a majority of its funds on Air India (about 66% in 2016-17).  For the last several years, Air India’s financial health has been poor. In order to bail out the company, the Government had approved the Turnaround Plan (TAP) and Financial Restructuring Plan (FRP) of Air India in April 2012.  Under the plans, the government would infuse equity into Air India subject to certain milestones.  The equity infusion included financial support towards the repayment of the principal, as well as the interest payments on the government loans for aircraft acquisition. Under the TAP/FRP, the central government was to infuse Rs. 30,231 crore till 2020-21.  Till 2015-16, the Ministry has infused an equity amount of Rs. 22,280 crore. In 2016-17, the Ministry has allocated Rs. 1,713 crore towards Air India, which is 43% (Rs. 1,303 crore) lower than the commitment as per TAP.  In 2015-16 (revised estimates), allocation to Air India was Rs. 3,300 crore which was 23% lower than the TAP commitment of Rs. 4,277 crore.  In 2014-15, the government had invested Rs.5,780 crore in air India.  The Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture examining the 2016-17 budget estimates has observed that reducing the equity infusion in Air India might adversely affect the financial situation of the company. It recommended that the government must allocate the amount committed under TAP.  The Ministry had also observed that due to a reduction of equity infusion in Air India as per the Turn Around Plan (TAP), Air India has to arrange funds through borrowing, which increases its financial burden. As of March 31, 2015, the total debt of Air India was at Rs. 51,367.07 crore.  When will the Government come up with a time-bound strategy in relation to achieving an optimal debt-equity ratio for Air India? When will Air India make profits?  Does the Government have a policy plan in that regard?

There exists an airstrip in Rasgovindpur in the Mayurbhanj district of Odisha, which was constructed during World War II in 1940.  The airstrip has since been abandoned.  The Government plans to construct 200 low cost airports to connect Tier II and Tier III towns in the country. I hereby urge upon the Union Government to develop the Rasgovindpur airstrip as one of the proposed 200 airports.  Not only does this airstrip have a 11,000 feet concrete runway, but his airport shall also be a gateway to the whole of Northern Odisha, connecting the populous districts of Balasore, Mayurbhanj, Bhadrak and Keonjahr. In addition, the proposed airport will be well connected with adjoining states like West Bengal and Jharkhand.

The Union Government should take note of the fact that Odisha has consistently lagged behind in infrastructure development for the last several decades, including in relation to airport construction and upgradation. Odisha has just one airport for its 4.19 crore population, whereas several major States in our country have (on an average) one airport for 70-80 lakh population.  Hence, there exists a serious disparity in terms of air connectivity in Odisha in view of the facts enumerated above. I once again strongly urge the Union Government to accord approval for the operationalization of Rasgovindpur in Amarda Road in North Odisha.

With regard to tourism, Balasore, my Lok Sabha constituency, houses the beautiful Chandipur bird sanctuary (and the nearby DRDO establishment) and various stunning Odia temples and traditional pilgrimage spots.  I urge the Union Government to take note of the immense potential Balasore offers in relation to promoting tourism in East India, and to make concerted efforts to strongly develop the tourism industry in Balasore, Odisha, and east India.

On this note, I would also like to reiterate a long-standing demand of the Odisha Government – it is imperative that the Government starts developing the Talsari-Dagara-Chandipur Tourism Circuit in Odisha.  Not only will the Circuit boost economic activity and infrastructure development along the Circuit, it will also attract millions of tourists to Odisha and East India, thereby spurring regionally balanced economic growth.

Another significant issue that has to be urgently addressed is the presence of multiple regulators in the civil aviation sector – The DGCA is responsible for the formulation and compliance of civil aviation regulations. It is also responsible for licensing of airline crew, certification of airline operators, investigation of incidents and minor accidents, implementation of safety measures, and formulation of aviation legislation.  The Airports Economic Regulatory Authority determines the tariff for (i) aeronautical services, (ii) development fee for major airports, (iii) passenger service fee (to be used by airport licensees for infrastructure and facilitation of passengers). Overlap in the functions of these regulatory bodies has led to problems in certain cases, resulting in decision making which may not resolve the issues. The Standing Committee had recommended that all regulatory functions in the sector should be looked at by one body.  This would ensure open access for all operators, and prevent a monopolistic nature of certain activities such as access to fuel. I would like to urge the Government to consider a dramatic overhaul of the civil aviation’s regulatory framework, as this is extremely necessary to ensure unhindered development of the civil aviation sector, a sector inexplicably linked with India’s infrastructural growth and economic development.

 

*श्रीमती दर्शना विक्रम जरदोश (सूरत) ः  मैं अपने सूरत महानगर के एयरपोर्ट के संबंध में नागरिक उड्डयन मंत्रालय की अनुदान मांगों के संबंध में माननीय नागरिक उड्डयन मंत्री जी के ध्यान में कुछ बातें रखना चाहती हॅं।

          सूरत एयरपोर्ट की बात करें तो यह गुजरात के बड़ौदा से लेकर मुंबई के बीच एक मात्र एयरपोर्ट है। दक्षिण गुजरात के कई गांव ऐसे हैं जहां हर घर में एन.आर.जी./एन.आर.आई. है, उनको या तो बड़ौदा से सूरत आना पड़ता है या मुंबई आना पड़ता है। हीरा, टैक्सटाईल, जरी एवं फलों का उत्पादन क्षेत्र होने की वजह से उन व्यापारियों के लिए एवं उद्योग के विकास हेतु प्रवास करने वालो के लिए सूरत-अंक्लेश्वर जैसे, जहां अरबों रूपयों के राष्ट्रीय-अंतर्राष्ट्रीय महत्व के उद्योगों के लिए सूरत एयरपोर्ट का विकास जरूरी है, यह राष्ट्रीय विकास हेतु भी आवश्यक है।

          मेरी मांग है कि सूरत एयरपोर्ट के विकास हेतु निधि का आवंटन हो। सूरत से गुजरात के अन्य शहरों में एवं देश के अन्य राज्यों में फ्लाईट की व्यवस्था की जाये। साथ ही, कार्गो फैसिलिटी को भी मंजूरी दी जाये। साथ ही साथ, दक्षिण गुजरात से जब बड़ी मात्रा में चीकू-आम का व्यापार देश के अन्य भागों एवं विदेशों से जुड़ा हुआ है तब उनको बढ़ावा देने हेतु उचित व्यवस्था एवं कोल्ड स्टोरेज की भी व्यवस्था की जानी चाहिए।

          इन सभी बातों को ध्यान में लेकर उचित व्यवस्था, अनुदान मांगों में की जाये, ऐसी मेरी मांग है।

          मैं पर्यटन मंत्रालय की अनुदान मांगों पर सरकार के ध्यान में कुछ बातें रखना चाहती हॅं।

          गुजरात राज्य इस दृष्टि से ऐतिहासिक और धार्मिक महत्व को उज़ागर करने वाले जगहों से समृद्ध है, तो कच्छ का रण, गिर के जंगल जैसे पर्यावरण की दृष्टि से समृद्ध स्थानों का धनी है। विशेषकर बारदोली, दांडी, हेरीटेज रूट, साबरमती आश्रम जैसे स्थानों पर एवं सौराष्ट्र, द्वारिका, देलवाड़ा, पालीताणा जैसे तीर्थस्थल यहां पर हैं। गुजरात सरकार रणोत्सव हर साल आयोजित करती है।

          मेरी मांग है कि वैकेशन के समय में जब विदेशों से एन.आर.आई./एन.आर.जी. गुजरात आते हैं, चाहे शादी के लिए हो या छुट्टियां मनाने के लिए हो, उस वव्त ऐसा आयोजन मंत्रालय की ओर से हो ताकि पूरे गुजरात के महत्वपूर्ण स्थानों पर घूमना एक ट्रिप में हफ्ता 10 दिनों में संभव हो, जिसकी बुकिंग भी वे अपने स्थान से कर सके। तो यह गुजरात एवं देश के लिए बहुत फायदेमंद रहेगा।

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Before I call the next speaker, I have to remind the Members that there is a long list of Members who want to speak. So, you have to conclude within five to six minutes. If at all you want to speak on both the Departments, you have to distribute time equally right at the beginning. There are still more than ten to twelve speakers and we have to conclude the discussion today itself.

          Shri Kesineni Srinivas.

SHRI KESINENI SRINIVAS (VIJAYAWADA): Sir, I congratulate the hon. Minister of Civil Aviation for giving a new direction to the civil aviation sector in India. Years of policy paralysis have given way to new thinking in the sector. For the first time since merger, Air India has reported an operating profit.These are signs of little shoots pushing away the soil and the plant emerging. Foremost, I would like to thank our hon. Prime Minister and the Civil Aviation Minister for expanding the Vijayawada Airport by modification and expansion of existing passenger terminal with Rs. 7.5 crore and sanction of Rs. 165 crore for the new interim domestic terminal building that is under construction. Further, I thank the Government for the preparation of the Master Plan for the existing Code-C category airport to Code-F category airport.

The Vijayawada Airport would serve the new State Capital of Andhra Pradesh and is expected to see an exponential increase in passenger traffic in the near future. The State of Andhra Pradesh is thankful for the development of airports at Tirupati, Kadapa, Vishakhapatnam, and Rajamundry.

With the start of additional flights by Air India from Vijayawada, people from five Districts in Andhra Pradesh, that is, Krishna, Guntur, Prakasham, East Godavari and West Godavari will be benefited. There is a large Telugu population in the US and Europe, and the new services launched by Air India from Vijayawada to Delhi will make traveling simpler and hassle-free for them.

Andhra Pradesh has witnessed an overall passenger traffic growth rate of 31 per cent in the last two years. Our Chief Minister is instrumental in proactively promoting civil aviation in the State and has cut down VAT on Aviation Turbine Fuel to 1 per cent in the State. Civil Aviation and Tourism sectors have massive employment generation potential. India, today, needs to create one million jobs every month in order to keep our workforce employed. The aviation sector has a healthy multiplier effect and for every aviation job there would be 6 other jobs created. The civil aviation traffic in India has grown by 22 per cent in the past one year and is poised to maintain its growth trajectory in the future. However, India has not been able to develop itself as a transit hub. We are strategically located between major tourist destinations of the East and the West, yet countries like Dubai, Singapore, Malaysia are a transit hub and not Indian cities. The Dubai Airport handled 78 million passengers in 2015 while the Delhi Airport is at just 37 million. If we compare the size of Dubai and that of India and the tourism potential in India, I would say that we are underperforming and need to work further to exploit India's full potential.

Next, I would like to highlight some laudable policies brought by the Civil Aviation Ministry. I welcome the Government's focus on affordable regional connectivity through development of unused airports and proposal to start low-cost flights at under Rs. 2,500 per ticket between small towns and cities.  

As we are aware that Andhra Pradesh has infrastructure deficit and the State urgently needs investment for improving connectivity. In this light, the clearance for setting-up green field airports at Bhogapuram in Vishakhapatnam, Nellore and Kurnool will help in economic development of the State. I request the Government to fast-track the development of these airports.

It was shocking to learn that annually Indian airlines were spending close to Rs. 5,000 crores on maintenance, repair and overhaul of aircrafts outside the country. Lack of MRO facilities in India is clearly an economic opportunity lost. This Government’s aim to make India the MRO hub of Asia is a great initiative. It will open-up employment avenues for our engineers. Andhra Pradesh with its trained manpower and a progressive Government would be a great place for companies to setup MRO hubs.

The Government is truly fostering development of civil aviation sector and it is evident from the new norms that allow 100 per cent FDI in green field airports; 49 per cent FDI in domestic scheduled passenger airlines; and 49 per cent FDI in ground-handling services, all under the automatic route. FDI will bring in much needed capital and skills to enhance civil aviation infrastructure in the country and enable us to develop new world-class airports.

Moving on to the Tourism Ministry, we are glad to learn that the Ministry has received a 70 per cent hike in the Union Budget with an allocation of Rs. 1,590 crore to achieve the objective of increasing India's share in world tourism.

18.00 hours However, if we look at the worldwide tourism industry, countries that are much smaller and less diverse in terms of terrain, cultures and religions have greater revenues from tourism. World Bank data on tourism receipts for the year 2014 puts India's receipts at USD 20 billion. Compare this to that of France at USD 67 Billion, Germany at USD 56 Billion, China at USD 57 Billion and even Malaysia which has greater revenues from tourism at USD 22 billion.

As I have already highlighted, tourism is one sector where we can generate massive job opportunities. We must target a greater share of the global tourism pie. Our Incredible India campaign has been successful in creating a positive image of India worldwide, but we need to go further and attract more tourists.

Andhra Pradesh is one of the few States in India, which has a rich diversity in terms of tourism and has the capacity to attract tourists across all age groups. Under the leadership of our beloved Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu and with a focused strategy in place, Andhra Pradesh hopes to become a leading tourism hub in the country.

Andhra Pradesh aims for investments worth Rs. 20,000 crore in the tourism sector by 2029 as it undertakes multiple initiatives to position the State as a preferred destination and hopes to get support from the Centre in achieving this target.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Hon. Members, now it is 6 o’clock. I have a list of more than ten Members to speak on Demands for Grants under the control of Ministry of Civil Aviation and Tourism. If the House agrees, time for the discussion may be extended by one hour.

SEVERAL HON. MEMBERS: Agreed.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Okay. Srinivasji, please continue your speech and conclude within one minute.

SHRI KESINENI SRINIVAS: Yes, Sir.

          Andhra Pradesh wants to leverage its 900 km long coastline for marine tourism. I request the Central Government to support Andhra Pradesh in developing and marketing marine tourism in the State.

In the end, I would like to conclude by saying that Civil Aviation and Tourism are two sectors that have enormous potential for growth in India. We are moving on the right track but we need to redouble our efforts to capture the employment and revenue generation capacity of these two sectors in the country.

With this we support the Demand for Grants relating to Ministry of Civil Aviation and Ministry of Tourism. Thank you.

*SHRI MD. BADARUDDOZA KHAN (MURSHIDABAD): I would like to draw the attention of the Government that Air India flights are frequently doing late and sometimes cancelled in the name of Pilot shortage, crew shortage and technical fault. Dreamliner flights are also giving a very bad service specifically in Delhi-Kolkata sector. Several times, we have protested against such irregularities. But nothing is done to correct these faults.  So I urge upon the Government to take serious efforts to solve these problems.

On the other hand, I have raised my voice and suggested some proposals for the improvement of Tourism Industry in West Bengal.  It will help us to generate employment and to earn foreign money also. I again request the Government to please allocate fund to set up a new Tourist Circuit naming ‘Nawab Circuit’ at Murshidabad District with Nawab Palace (Hazarduari) Imambara-Wasif Manjil- Nashipur Rajbari-Kathgola Bagan – Katra Mosque-Topkhana-Kadam Sarif-Khosbag Graveyard and Cossimbazar. Secondly, I request to allocate fund for development of tourism in ‘Sunderban’ (West Bengal).  Thirdly, I request to allocate some grants for development of tourism in North Bengal specially places in Darjeeling and Jalpaiguri.

Finally, I propose to allocate fund for development of world heritage Toy Train the attraction of tourist in Darjeeling.

   

*DR. RATNA DE (NAG) (HOOGHLY):  As regards Demands for Grants of the Ministry of Tourism for 2016-17, one stark fact which has come out in the material supplied from the Reference Desk is that the grant of Rs.1,573 crore provided in the 2015-16 has been reduced to Rs.932.15 crore at the Revised Estimate stage. In this year, 2016-17, a sum of Rs. 1,590 crore has been provided. I don’t why how much Ministry would get at the Revised Estimate stage.  I wish hon. Minister would inform the House as to how much he is expected to get at the Revised Estimate stage from the Finance Ministry.  The Hon'ble Prime Minister is talking about job creation and poverty alleviation. Tourism is the best engine.

India is full of tourist destinations. Almost all States have great tourist spots to be visited both domestically and internationally.  I was astonished to find the Foreign Exchange earnings through tourism in India in the last two years was Rs. 1.23 lakh crore and Rs. 1.35 lakh crore for 2014 and 2015 respectively.  Foreign tourist arrivals too have gone up year after year. In 2014-15, 907 crore foreign tourists visited India. When we have such huge potential through tourism in India, why is the Ministry not making efforts to make full use of tourism to earn more and more foreign exchange earnings?

          The plan to revive 160 under served airports are welcomed but what about the infrastructure status for aviation sectors.  Duty free period and free stay period are welcome.  But the budget does not mention the relief in terms of zero rating of service tax and infrastructure of states.  5% cess component has been added which will increase service tax component to 15%.  The additional tax on SUVs and diesel will make tourist coaches expensive. The proposal to increase the tax on Air Traffic fare will result in increase in air fares and dampen air passenger growth which would affect economic growth.  We already have many airports without much connectivity.

There is a need to ensure regular upkeep, maintenance, renovation and repair works of all the major and minor tourist destinations across the country.  At present, it is not maintained properly and its renovation and repair works and the infrastructure leading to the tourist monuments and sights are not up to the mark.  There cannot be two opinions about this.

There is a need to ensure promotion of tourism, development of tourism infrastructure, promotion of eco-tourism, coastal tourism circuit to be set up. As we have a number of religious places, efforts should be made to develop religious tourism also.

I have a suggestion to make keeping in view huge tourism potential in the country. Why not Ministry promote Indian Tourism abroad through our Embassies and Consulates in over 190 countries?

Money should be spent generously to ensure schemes meant for promotion of tourism in the country are implemented in time.  If there is shortage of money, external aid too should be taken unhesitatingly to develop tourism in the country.

I would like to know as to how far the Ministry has gone in bringing out the new National Tourism Policy?  Where do we stand now on this? How would the new Tourism Policy give a much needed fillip to our tourism?  Health Tourism has its own set of unique challenge.  The overall focus on tourism is skewed.

Now, I come to my State, West Bengal, which has huge tourist potential, as my State is bordered by Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh. It comprises of two natural regions – the Gangetic Plain in the South and the sub-Himalayan and Himalayan area in the North.

I wish to briefly state a few of the architectural excellence which owes its origins to European, British, Portuguese and French styles.  Kolkata is called a city of Palaces. Darjeeling, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway (Toy Train), Cooch Behar Palace, Jaldapara National Park, Shantiniketan, The Great Banyan Tree in Howrah (Shibpur), Howrah Bridge, Dakshineswar Kali Temple, Second Hooghly Bridge, Belur Math and Victoria Memorial in Kolkata, Sunderbans Delta, St. Paul’s Cathedral, Sunderbans National Park, Salk Lake Stadium, Howrah Station, Eden Gardens are some of the most prominent spots and destinations in West Bengal.

Buddhist Monasteries can be found at numerous places in West Bengal.  Durga Puja every year attracts scores of people domestically and internationally. 

I would like to strongly suggest to the hon. Minister to tap the huge tourist potential in West Bengal to earn more foreign exchange earnings by pumping in more money for renovation and repair of tourist destinations, places of interest and also develop vastly infrastructure in and around these tourist destinations.  Safety of tourists, both domestic and international, should be given top priority.

Our Chief Minister wanted direct flight to USA and Europe, but to my utter dismay and anguish, even after having such huge tourist potential, over the years, only three mega projects/circuits of the Ministry find a place in West Bengal like Ganga Heritage River Cruise Circuit, Dooars (Jalpaiguri District, West Bengal). I would like to urge to tap the tourist potential of West Bengal with new initiatives.  The Ministry of Tourism of the Union Government should get in touch with the Government of West Bengal to move forward to see that tourist potential of West Bengal is tapped fully and completely for the betterment of the country and also to earn more foreign exchange revenues.

 *SHRI GOPAL SHETTY (MUMBAI NORTH): I would like to draw the attention of the Government towards Mandapeshwar Caves, Kaneri caves in my Constituency in Borivali dahisar, North Mumbai, you will be surprise to know that since last many decades neither the Government of India nor the Government of Maharashtra has taken any case or spent any penny to make it a tourist spot.  It is noted that only Government officers, staff are payed for nothing.  I am sad again to bring in to your knowledge that at the time of Atalji Government Shri Anant Kumarji was minister and Shri Ram Naikji was M.P. from North Mumbai.  Who made Shri Anant Kumarji to visit Mandapeshwar cages site and had promosed to the local gathering that the development work will start soon and the locals will have a tourist spot again lost more than 15 yeas nothing done.  Some time back Maharashtra Government announced to spend some amount and all the caves in Mumbai will be developed as tourist spot, funds were also allocated but again in vain.  I was a MLA of that area.  Now again our Government is formed since two years now I am MP of that area and trying hard for the last two years met you in personally had a joint meeting also with you.  But still no change till date.  I am also sorry to inform you that the people of nearby area cannot celeberate cultural pooja programmes on Mahashivratri and other designated days.  Archological Department officers and police force are always create a panic situation and disturb the cultural activities. Surprisingly, this year National park Sanjay Ghandhi Forest officers objected the devoties entering Kaneri caves to celeberate Mahashivratri which is going on since last many many decades.  It becomes a awkward position to B.S.P. elected members and party workers to face the gathering and answer them when we are ruling in Centre and State.  I request your good self to find an solution to the long pending issue and give justice to the people who have faith in god and also Government.  I will be more happy if I get an early reply also to my needful and justified demand.

*SHRI RAJEEV SATAV (HINGOLI):  In 1994, the Government of India repealed the Air Corporations Act, 1953 and replaced it with the Air Corporations (Transfer of Undertaking and Repeal) Act, 1994 thus enabling private operators to operate scheduled services at domestic operations.  This was part of the liberalization reforms that started in 1991.

Today, India has the fastest growing domestic aviation market in the world, as per the International Air Transport Association (IATA), ahead of China and the United States. India’s domestic air passenger demand soared 28.1% in July 2015 as compared to a year ago.  This growth is three times as compared to China’s (10.9%) growth and five times as compared to United States’ (5.9%) growth during the same period. Forecasted growth for India’s domestic traffic is expected to be around 15% for the current year. Plane manufacturers are upbeat on India. This growth has come at the same time as slump in oil global prices, which has further helped spur demand.

Thus, it would be correct to say that, by all means, India is on a cusp of a revolution in civil aviation.  Aviation Industry in India holds around 69% of the total shares of the airlines traffic in the region of South Asia. This time period, thus, is critical for the industry and requires serious governance and leadership to create global Indian institutions.

          The Finance Minister in his budget speech talked about the fact that the Government is drawing up an action plan for revival of 160 unserved and undeserved airports which can be revived at an indicative cost of Rs.50 crore to Rs.100 crore each. Nanded airport is one such airport that is in dire need of Central Government’s attention. Nanded is a major Sikh pilgrimage centre and home to the Sach Khand Huzur Sahib Gurdwara, the place where Guru Govind Singh’s ashes were buried. This is also one of the Five Takhts of Sikhism and therefore most important from pilgrimage perspective. Visitors from across India including and especially from the North India and the world arrive here in big numbers all through the year.  There is an urgent need to start flight from this airport and ensure connectivity at least through national career, the Air India. 

While the domestic demand for air travel has increased considerably in the last few years, the Government has done little to help it grow further. Government has not reduced the jet fuel prices in proportion to the fall in international crude oil prices.  Services provided at all Indian airports except the major ones continue to be far below the global standards. The airport connectivity with the cities is extremely limited.

However, no Government’s failure comes even close to its failure in revamping the country’s national career, the Air India. Air India has suffered losses to the tune of Rs. 2,636 crore in 2015-16 and Rs. 5,859.91 crore in the year 2014-15. Government has once again been forced to inject a sum of Rs.22,280 crore in March 2016 to keep the airlines afloat.  So far, the Indian government has pumped in more than Rs. 30,000 crore into stabilizing the airline. As of December 2015, its debt stood at over Rs. 50,000 crore.

The 85-year-old Air India has been steadily losing market share to rivals. As of January 2016, Air India’s share in the pie stood at 16% compared to over 35% at the time of the merger in 2007.  Today, Air India spends almost one-fifth of its revenue on employee pay and benefits while other airlines such as Jet Airways spend about one-tenth. Since the merger, NACIL has tried to cut costs.  Its employee-to-aircraft ratio stood at one to 120 in 2015, which is still more than the global average of one to 100.

There was a time not too long ago when the Air India set the global standard for customer service.  Now, it seems to have fallen far behind its Middle Eastern and South Asian counterparts in terms of quality services and business excellence.

Only about 2% of the Indian population currently travels by air. Airbus, the world’s second largest aircraft-maker, believes India’s civil aviation industry will grow by over 9.5% in the next 20 years. US-headquartered Boeing expects a demand for 1,740 planes in India over the next 20 years. That’s an opportunity that Air India can’t afford to miss.

The expansion of India’s aviation sector also brings with itself a number of security challenges including prevention of terrorism. The world watched in shock how Brussels airport was attacked by suicide bombers on the 22 March 2016.  We can’t allow any such incident to happen on our soil. In this context, a report by a department related to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture has raised deep concerns. The report suggests that a total of 27 such functional airports in our country are protected by forces other than the Central Industrial Security Force (CISF).  The report said it was “quite scary to know that the security of eight of our hyper-sensitive and 19 of our sensitive airports are not covered by the CISF that has now become the only specialized force for aviation security”.  The reasons cited include “lack of funds”.  The report said that –“Any large-scale damage or terrorist attack on the airport would be catastrophic with far reaching grave implications for the citizens and the economy.  Explanations given to the committee for non-deployment of CISF at remaining airports were lack of funds”.  In the present day world where the terrorists are always a step away from creating havoc and taking hundreds of innocent lives, the Government is best advised to not compromise with the security of Indian citizens and provide the CISF with necessary resources.

The last few years have seen a significant improvement in photography and drone technology. A number of countries around the world are trying to minimize the threats posed by drones by regulating the usage of drone technology.

At the same time, drones are being developed across the world with the specific intent of understanding the structures or creating the replicas of places of strategic importance. Such drones vary from the size of aerial toys to large scale planes. Recently, a person was captured with a small sized drone flying around the Prime Minister’s house. Repetition of such an incidence can’t be tolerated under any circumstances.  To this effect, I have introduced a private member Bill which aims to ensure that advancement in photography and drone technology doesn’t make our skies more vulnerable. The number of drones is only going to rise in future and there is an urgent need for government to bring a pre-emptive legislation to ensure the safety of our skies.

To summarise, triggered by the reforms that started almost 2 decades back, India’s civil aviation sector is ready to become one of the largest in the world.  While the opportunities are immense, the vulnerability of our skies has also grown manifolds. The Government needs to come up with a comprehensive policy in the civil aviation sector which not only ensures that Indian civil aviation companies are able to become world leading aviation companies but also that we are able to offer safe and convenient travel to customers at competitive prices. 

*श्री श्रीरंग आप्पा बारणे (मावल) ः  हमारे ग्रंथों में स्पष्ट रूप से मानव के विकास, सुख और शांति की संतुष्टि व ज्ञान के लिए पर्यटन को अति आवश्यक माना गया है। हमारे देश के ऋषि-मुनियों ने भी पर्यटन को प्रथम महत्व दिया है। प्राचीन गुरूओं (ब्राह्मणों, ऋषि-तपस्वियों) ने भी यह कहा कि ""बिना पर्यटन मानव अंधकार प्रेमी होकर रह जायेगा।"" पाश्चात्य विद्वान संत ऑगस्टिन ने तो यहां तक कह दिया कि ""बिना विश्व दर्शन ज्ञान ही अधूरा है।"" पंचतंत्र नामक भारतीय साहित्य दर्शन में कहा गया है ""विधाव्तिम शिल्पं तावत्राप्यनोति मानवः सम्यक यावद ब्रजति न भुमो देशा-देशांतरः।""

          भारत में पर्यटन के विकास और उसे बढ़ावा देने के लिए पर्यटन मंत्रालय नोडल एजेंसी है और ""अतुल्य भारत"" अभियान की देख-रेख करता है। विश्व यात्रा और पर्यटन परिषद के अनुसार, सर्वाधिक 10 वर्षीय विकास क्षमता के साथ 2018 से भारत पर्यटन का आकर्षण केंद्र बन जाएगा।

          भारत एक ऐसा देश है कि यहां पर सबसे ज्यादा पर्यटक देश और विदेश से आते हैं। पर्यटन को बढ़ावा देने हेतु सरकार ने ठोस कदम उठाने की जरूरत है। अपने देश को विरासत में सबसे ज्यादा कोस्टल एरिया, किले, गुफाएंì और पर्यटन क्षेत्र मिला है।

          मेरे संसदीय क्षेत्र में लोनावाला, खंडाला, माथेरान, पर्यटन क्षेत्र के अलावा कारला, भाजा गुफाओं के अलावा घारापुरी स्थिति विश्व धरोहर एलिफेंटा गुफाएं, राजमांची, लोहागढ़ विसापुर, तिकोना जैसे ऐतिहासिक किले हैं और साथ ही विशेष तौर पर मेरे संसदीय क्षेत्र लगकर ही छत्रपति शिवाजी का ऐतिहासिक किला रायगढ़ है।

          कारला गुफा के नज़दीक एकविरा देवी का प्रसिद्ध पुरातन मंदिर है। पौराणिक कथा के अनुसार, यह मंदिर वन में अपने निर्वासन के दौरान पांडवों द्वारा निर्मित किया गया था। यह मंदिर पुरातत्व विभाग द्वारा संरक्षित है, जो कार्ला गुफाओं से घिरा हुआ है और महा-मंडप, वर्षा-मंडप और गोपुरा नामक तीन धार्मिक स्थलों के सामने स्थित है और इन तीन धार्मिक स्थलों के अतिरिव्त देवता के सोलह धार्मिक स्थलों से घिरा हुआ है।

          एकविरा देवी का मंदिर आग्री समाज का प्रमुख पूजा स्थल है और प्रतिवर्ष लाखों की संख्या में रायगढ़, मुंबई, कोंकण और महाराष्ट्र के अन्य क्षेत्रों से लाखों पर्यटक एवं भव्त यहां देवी के दर्शन एवं गुफा देखने आते हैं।

          नवरात्रों के समय पर यहां पर्यटकों और भव्तों की संख्या कई गुना बढ़ जाती है, जिससे यहां स्थिति गुफाओं को देखने के लिए भी बहुत से पर्यटक भी बढ़ जाते हैं। अतः कालरा, भुजा, गुफा, एकविरा देवी के मंदिर, लोहागढ़, तिकोना, राजमांची और बिसापुर किलों के लिए मंत्रालय द्वारा विशेष संरक्षण निधि उपलब्ध करने की मांग मैं इस बजट में करता हॅं।

          महाराष्ट्र, 2 मिलियन से ज्यादा विदेशी पर्यटकों के सालाना आगमन के साथ, विदेशी पर्यटकों द्वारा सर्वाधिक दर्शनीय राज्य रहा है। महाराष्ट्र में असंख्य लोकप्रिय और सम्मानित धार्मिक स्थल हैं, जहां बड़ी संख्या में स्थानीय लोग और राज्य से बाहर के पर्यटक आते हैं।

          मुंबई, भारत का सबसे ज्यादा सर्वदेशीय नगर है और आधुनिक भारत के अनुभव के लिए एक महत्वपूर्ण जगह है। मुंबई विश्व के सबसे बड़े फिल्म उद्योग बॉलीवुड के लिए लोकप्रिय है। इसके अलावा, मुंबई अपने क्लब, खरीदारी के लिए प्रसिद्ध है। यह शहर, प्राचीन अजंता गुफाओं से लेकर, इस्लामी हाजी अली की मस्जिद तथा बंबई उचच न्यायालय और विक्टोरिया टर्मिनस के औपनिवेशिक स्थापत्य कला तथा अपनी वास्तुकला के लिए जाना जाता है।

          महाराष्ट्र में पैराग्लाईडिंग, रॉक क्लाम्बिंग, कैनोइंग, केएकिंग, स्कूबा डाइविंग सहित असंख्य साहसिक पर्यटन स्थल हैं। महाराष्ट्र में कई प्राचीन राष्ट्रीय उद्यान और परिरक्षण स्थल, औरंगाबाद में बीबी का मकबरा, कोल्हापुर में महालक्ष्मी मंदिर, मराठा साम्राज्य का गढ़ पुणे शहर, शानदार गणेश चतुर्थी समारोह भी देखने लायक है। अतः मैं महाराष्ट्र सरकार द्वारा, पर्यटन मंत्रालय को भेजे गए सभी प्रस्तावों को जल्दी से जल्दी मंजूरी देने तथा पर्यटन को बढ़ावा देने हेतु महाराष्ट्र राज्य को विशेष आर्थिक पैकेज देने की मांग करता हूं।

          हमारी सरकार इस क्षेत्र में देश का और प्रत्येक नागरिक का विकास और सुविधा देना चाहती है। इसी को देखते हुए विमान आयात के नियमों को उदार करते हुए नागर विमानन मंत्रालय ने विमानन कंपनियों को अब इसके लिए शुरूआती मंजूरी सिर्फ नागर विमानन महानिदेशालय (डी.जी.सी.ए.) से लेने का कार्य किया है और निश्चित रूप से इस कदम से घरेलू विमानन कंपनियों के लिए मंजूरी की प्रक्रिया आसान हो जाएगी और ज्यादातर विमानन कंपनियां अपने बेड़े का विस्तार करने की तैयारी आसानी से कर सकेगी।

          जैसाकि सभी जानते हैं कि अभी तक अनुसूचित और क्षेत्रीय अनुसूचित ऑपरेटरें को विमानों के आयात और अधिग्रहण के लिए मंत्रालय की मंजूरी लेनी होती है। इस कार्य को सरल करने के लिए अधिकारों का यह स्थानांतरण प्रक्रियाओं को सुगम करने के तहत विमान आयात के लिए मंजूरी ढांचे में बदलाव को क्रियान्वित करने के लिए विदेश व्यापार महानिदेशालय (डी.जी.एफ.टी.) तथा रिजर्व बैंक ने भी अपनी मौजूदा अधिसूचना और मास्टर सर्कुलर में संशोधन किया है।

          नागर विमानन क्षेत्र में कौशल विकास के लिए कौशल अंतर विश्लेषण और योजना पर आयोजित कार्यशाला का कुछ समय पहले आयोजन किया गया था, और सभी जानते हैं कि इस क्षेत्र में उपलब्ध कौशल और अपेक्षित कौशल की किस्म में व्यापक असंतुलन मौजूद है। अतः मैं समझता हॅं कि देश और देश से बाहर इस क्षेत्र में नागर विमानन के सभी क्षेत्रों में उपलब्ध अधिक रोज़गार के अवसरों का ध्यान रखते हुए कौशल विकास हेतु सबको साथ मिलकर काम करने की जरूरत है। नागर विमानन क्षेत्र में व्यापक कौशल अंतर विश्लेषण का कार्य करने और इस क्षेत्र में कौशल विकास के लिए भविष्य की योजना तैयार करने के लिए हमारी सरकार ने आई.सी.आर.ए. मैनेजमेंट कंसलटेंसी सर्विसेज लिमिटेड (आई.एम.ए.सी.एस.) को नियुव्त किया है, जिसने अपनी मसौदा रिपोर्ट हाल ही में पेश की है। वर्तमान में नागर विमानन क्षेत्र में मौजूद कौशल अंतर से निपटने की आवश्यकता है। इस क्षेत्र में कौशल विकास के लिए भविष्य की योजना बनाने हेतु और अधिक कार्य करने की जरूत है। जैसाकि हम जानते हैं कि हमारी सरकार द्वारा गठित आई.एम.ए.सी.एस. द्वारा तैयार मसौदा रिपौर्ट में हवाई अड्डा, एयरलाइन, एम.आर.ओ., कॉर्गों और ग्राउंड हेंडलिंग जैसे विमानन क्षेत्र के विभिन्न वर्गों में संभावित कौशल जरूरतों की पहचान की गई है और राष्ट्रीय नागर विमानन प्रशिक्षण प्राधिकरण और कॉर्गों तथा ग्राउंड हैंडलिंग क्षेत्र कौशल परिषद की स्थापना की भी सिफारिश की गई है। मैं इसके लिए सरकार का अभिनंदन करता हॅं।

                           

SHRI KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY (CHEVELLA): Sir, I will try to cover only points which are not covered by others and I will try to make it short.

          The total budget of Rs.2,590 crore is actually 30 per cent less than that of previous year.  But I do not want to talk about numbers. The Finance Minister in his wisdom has definitely has various priorities and I do not want to discuss that issue. I am more concerned about the goals of the Ministries, the rules and the policies, and whether they are consistent with the goals of the Ministry.

          First I would like to talk about the Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) industry. I think the opportunity is being missed. This was raised last year. Ninety per cent of the MRO work in Air India and private carriers, even for simple things like seat change and tire change, etc., is going to other countries. We would request the Minister to look into this.

          The Ministry needs to review the royalty charged by Airports Authority on the MRO. The Airports Authority charges 13 per cent royalty on Indian MROs and that renders them uncompetitive. Is it consistent with the policy? We need to distinguish a separate category through amending aircraft rules. The MROs are currently are clubbed with ground handling services. That also needs to be looked into.

          Hon. Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju had actually taken proactive measures and he insisted that tax exemption to the MROs be given and I think the Finance Minister promised it. But today I think still the taxes are being paid on ten per cent of the MRO services we are rendering within the country. A strong MRO is very very critical.

          I will skip some points and directly go to the point on amphibious aircraft. I think we wanted to promote amphibious aircraft because we have so many rivers and lakes, cost of construction of such airports is small, and we want to promote regional airlines. But I think there is only one company in Kerala which is doing this.  I think that again is not consistent with the policy.  We need to promote that.

          Coming to low cost airlines, if you look at Africa and Australia, there are no low cost airlines but tiny airliners which are servicing regional and rural areas.  That is almost totally absent in our country. 

          One more important thing which covers both the Ministry is about micro ultralight aircraft and parafoils.  It covers Tourism Ministry as well as Civil Aviation Ministry.  Instead of promoting that, I think there are restricting rules in the offing.  I think the rule they are going to bring in is that a pilot may fly a fighter plane or a 747 but he can’t fly a micro ultralight aircraft and only the owner has to fly it.  It is like saying that only the owner of the car can drive the car.  That needs to be removed. 

          They have given some designated flying zone for ultralight flying.  Instead, it should be converse.  Conversely, they should designate areas which are defence-sensitive or airport funnel zones which are restricted for ultralight aircraft flying.

          For regional routes, they plan to bring Rs 2500 per head limit on the ticket. At the moment, the airlines including the Government owned Air India charge upto Rs 16,000 and it is not demand-based.  It is based on the time of booking.  Even if the airlines are empty, the charges are very high.

          Coming to Telangana, it was a pioneer in civil aviation.  One of the first aviation companies was in Telangana- the Deccan Airways and some of the first few women pilots were from this airline, even before Independence.  We are very happy that the Minister is doing a lot of things for Andhra but I think it is time to look at Telangana as well.  For Warangal, Khammam, Kothagudem, Karimnagar and Adilabad, there is no connectivity and no support for that.  For GMR airport and other airports, we need TSA clearance for last point of departure.

          Hyderabad is in the centre of India.  It is the heartland of India.  That is a good destination to make an Air India hub for the south zone. Hyderabad has a lot of connection with Turkish Airlines and they are trying to come but there are a lot of barriers that are preventing them.

          Rs 10 crore was set aside for Commission on Railway Safety.  I would like to understand what that is. 

          Then there is emergency medical evacuation.  The hospitals currently cannot utilize the services of medical evacuation.  The helicopter has to first land at the nearest airport and then it has to go to the hospital and then from the hospital again the same has to be done.  So, we lose precious time.  Something needs to be done about that.

          Medical tourism is the subject of both Civil Aviation Ministry and Tourism Ministry and that really needs to be looked into.

          Coming to tourism, there are a lot of forts, palaces and various monuments which are not protected adequately.  The Ministry needs to work with the Archaeology Department.  There is Khammam Fort, the Devarakonda Fort, the Medak forts and so many other forts in Telangana.  Archaeology Department and the Tourism Ministry need to work together on preserving them.  Even from Taj Mahal, some colour stones are being removed.  There are many suggestions for Tughlakabad Fort.

          Safety of foreign tourists is a concern.  Prof. Saugata Roy talked about tourism police.  I think that is a very good suggestion.  The Ministry needs to look into it.

HON. CHAIRPERSON: If there are suggestions in many areas, you can give them to the Ministry. Now please conclude within half a minute.

SHRI KONDA VISHWESHWAR REDDY :Rural tourism helps the rural youth. They can stay in the villages and earn. That needs to be looked into.

          On adventure tourism, bungee jumping in Jog Falls in Karnataka, parajumping in Himachal Pradesh, cave exploration in the lot of seven or eight kilometre-long caves in Telangana and white water rafting in Nalgonda district have to be looked into.

          The National Tourism Policy is still in draft stage. We are waiting for the final Tourism Policy to come out.

          In pilgrimage tourism, in Telangana, we have the Ramayana circuit, Bhadrachalam, Vikarabad, Kolannapaka where the Jain Temple with the biggest idol of Mahavira is there, and Nelakondapally in Khammam. All of these have to be promoted.

          Coming to theatre districts, the major cities all over the world have what are called theatre districts which earn revenue upwards of four million to five million dollars. London has it in West End and Soho; New York has it in Broadway; Berlin has it in East End; and there is Ginza in Tokyo. We have had a Question about MICE.  I think, we need a focus on the theatre districts and culture districts. If the Ministry does not have plans, if our Government wants to promote a theatre district, will the Ministry support it? … (Interruptions)

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Thank you. Please take your seat now.

… (Interruptions)

*SHRI D. K. SURESH (BANGALORE RURAL):   A country’s transportation sector plays an integral role in the growth and development of an economy. According to the Indian Aerospace Industry Analysis report, in terms of passenger traffic, India is currently the ninth largest aviation market in the world. With regard to air cargo tonnage, India leads the South Asian region- consisting of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.  Currently, India has 128 airports - including 15 international airports. Over the past ten years, the Indian civil aviation sector grew by 14.2% in terms of domestic passengers and 7.8% in terms of air cargo (in CAGR – compound annual growth rate).  In 2010-11, six major Indian carriers with around 400 aircraft catered to 143 million passengers, including 38 million passengers that originated abroad. In 1932, J.R.D. Tata flew an air mail service airplane, after which Tata Airlines ventured into scheduled air transport services.

          At the time of India’s independence in 1947, nine air transport companies, carrying both air cargo and passengers, operated in the country.  Government of India and Air India – Tata Airlines was renamed Air India in 1946 – set up a joint sector company, Air India International Ltd.  In order to address the deteriorating financial health of India’s Civil Aviation sector, the Government of India passed the Air Corporations Act of 1953, which nationalized all carriers providing services within India’s Civil Aviation industry.  Up until the late 1980s, India’s civil aviation sector remained monopolized by India’s government owned airlines.  However in 1986, the Indian government once again granted permission to private sector companies to provide air taxi service.

          Additionally, India’s Open Sky Policy of 1990-13 and the Air Corporations (Transfer of Undertakings and Repeal) Act further freed up India’s civil aviation industry and eradicated the government carrier monopoly.  While these policy changes led to a dramatic increase in the number of private airline carriers; due to viability issues, by the end of the 20th century all private air carriers, except Jet Airlines and Air Sahara, exited the market. In 2003 the introduction of a new type of airline service called low cost carriers – LCCs or no-frills air service – by Air Deccan, reinvigorated India’s civil aviation sector.  By bringing competition into the Jet airlines-Air Sahara duopoly, Air Deccan brought a new competitive spirit to India’s Civil Aviation. Furthermore, introduction of low cost airlines also changed the perception that air travel was reserved only for the elites. By 2007 mergers and acquisitions became common in India’s Civil Aviation sector. Within a span of two years Air India and Indian Airlines merged, as did Jet Airways and Air Sahara, and Kingfisher Airlines and Air Deccan.

          Currently, India maintains bilateral Air Service Agreements (ASAs) with 108 countries.  While 72 foreign airlines fly in and out of India, four private domestic carriers – Jet Air, IndiGo, SpiceJet and Kingfisher – fly to 35 destinations in 25 countries. While India’s international carriers lobbied the Indian government to allow them to run more flights to Oman, Saudi Arabia and Hong Kong, representatives from the Persian Gulf lobbied the Indian government for additional seats. Developments in the Indian Aviation Industry as India’s civil aviation sector developed and evolved over time, in order to guide market participants the Ministry of Civil Aviation and Government of India periodically responded to new industry challenges by setting up and amending existing regulatory frameworks.

          Until 1994, the Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) controlled every aspect of flying including the Government to set up aviation university, licensing of pilots, certifying aircraft and issuing all rules and procedures governing Indian airports and airspace. However, in 1994 and Act of Parliament established the airports Authority of India (AAI). This Act gave the AAI the power to manage all national and international airports and administer every aspect of air transport operation through the air traffic control.  In 2008, the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority of India Act established the Airports Economic Regulatory Authority (AERA) of India. AERA regulates tariffs and other aeronautical charges, as well as monitors airports’ performance standards.

          India’s civil aviation sector is much younger than other modes of transportation, and its market structure has changed frequently over the last few decades. India’s civil aviation sector evolved from a market tightly controlled by the government with two air carrier service providers to a relatively competitive market with a somewhat small number of domestic and international air carriers. Some features of India’s civil aviation sector include a large number of consumers (passengers and cargo), a relatively small number of airlines with significant market share, significant cost barriers to market entry, differentiated services, and competitive firms affecting each other’s business decisions. These market characteristics indicate that India’s civil aviation sector has an inherent oligopolistic market structure.  Since within India’s civil aviation sector, economies of scale and scope exist; in order for each market participant to break even, the firm must achieve a minimum efficient scale of operation.

          I would request the government for a thorough and proper monitoring on the functioning of various airports, consider setting up of more and more solar fields for conversion of existing airports as green airports, timely monitoring on the fairs of domestic and international passengers, etc.           Poor financial health of Air India: The Ministry spends majority of its funds on Air India (about 66% in 2016-17).  India’s financial health has been poor. According to the Ministry, reasons for Air India’s losses include: (i) the adverse impact of exchange rate variation due to the weakening of Indian Rupee, (ii) high interest burden, (iii) increase in competition, especially from low cost carriers, and (iv) high fuel prices. The National Transport Development Policy Committee (NTDPC), in its report in 2013, had observed that Air India has been struggling to make a transition from a monopoly market to a competitive one, been struggling to improve its efficiency, and compete with the private airlines. In order to bail out the company, the government had approved the Turnaround Plan (TAP) and Financial Restructuring Plan (FRP) of Air India in April 2012.  It would infuse equity into Air India subject to certain milestones.

          The equity infusion included financial support towards the repayment of the principal, as well as the interest payments on the government loans for aircraft acquisition. Under the TAP/FRP, the central government was to infuse Rs. 30,231 crore till 2020-21.  Till 2015-16, the Ministry has infused an equity amount of Rs. 22,280 crore. In 2016-17, the Ministry has allocated Rs. 1,713 crore towards Air India, which is 43% (Rs. 1,303 crore) lower than the commitment as per TAP. 

          In 2015-16, (revised estimates) allocation to Air India was Rs. 3,300 crore which was 23% lower than the TAP commitment of Rs. 4,277 crore.  2014-15, the government had invested Rs. 5,780 crore in Air India. The Standing committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture examining the 2016-17 budget estimates has observed that reducing the equity infusion in Air India might adversely affect the financial situation of the company.  It recommended that the government must allocate the amount committed under TAP.  The Ministry had also observed that due to reduction of equity infusion in Air India as per the Turn Around Plan (TAP), Air India has to arrange funds through borrowing which increases its financial burden. As of March 31, 2015 the total debt of Air India was at Rs. 51,367.07 crore,  Rs.22,574.09 crore outstanding on account of aircraft loans.

          Some of these airports such as Mumbai, Delhi, Hyderabad, etc. have been considered to be successful PPP projects. With the passenger traffic having trebled in the last 10 years, and more growth expected in the upcoming years, most airports will need to expand their capacity, and new airports will be required.  Achieving these growth numbers may not be possible with the conventional procurement methods, and will require PPP frameworks to provide better services.

It has also been observed that high fuel costs also affect the airline’s abilities to invest in other services such as buying more aircraft, and servicing more routes. Further, high taxes on ATF impedes the ability of Indian international airports to compete and develop into international hubs for plane services such as maintenance, fuel and re-hauling.

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas may consider reducing the basic price of ATF, (ii) the Ministry of Finance may consider reducing the excise duty levied on ATF, and (iii) the state governments may consider reducing the VAT on ATF.

The Civil Aviation industry has a great potential for expansion in the era of globalization. However, there are factors such as non-availability of low-cost carriers (LCCs), lack of modern airports, Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in domestic airlines, which made the Indian civil aviation industry lagging behind other countries.

I would like to suggest the government to take immediate necessary steps to ensure overall development of civil aviation in our country by using the advanced information technology (IT) interventions in the industry. I would also like to suggest that there is a growing emphasis on regional connectivity. Number of cities in our country have greater potential to have air line connectivity. However, there is not proper planning and execution of the projects to develop the civil Aviation Industry.  Therefore, I would also like to suggest that the government should take necessary steps to create world-class infrastructural facilities; establish regulatory framework in consonance with international standards; connect presently un-served or undeserved areas; develop skilled manpower and deploy advanced technologies, so that India would improve its present rank of being the ninth-largest civil aviation market in the world and become one of the best markets in this sector.

The world is focused on Indian aviation – from manufacturers, tourism boards, airlines and global businesses to individual travelers, shippers and businessmen. If we can find common purpose among all stakeholders in Indian aviation, a bright future is at hand. Hence I urge upon the government to pay adequate attention to the Civil aviation sector.

Tourism has been acknowledged as a key driver for economic development and employment generation across the world. The tourism sector can contribute to faster, sustainable and more inclusive growth particularly for women and youth.  In the absence of adequate infrastructure for connecting various tourist destinations, such as roads, transportation are affecting the development of tourism. Apart from these, lack of hygiene and cleanliness at tourist destinations has negatively impacted tourism in India. To tackle this problem, Ministry of Tourism launched the Campaign Clean India on 20.12.2011 with a vision to ensure acceptable levels of cleanliness and hygiene practices at various tourist destinations.

In the recent times, it has been reported that there is successive decline in percentage of growth in Foreign Tourist Arrivals (FTAs) as well as Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) in terms of US Dollar. The government should take steps to increase the number of tourist destinations of our country.  At the same time, the government should pay proper attention to address various constraints for tourism development in the country, such as safety of tourist’s particularly foreign tourists, shortage of skilled manpower, inadequacy of accommodation, lack of cleanliness in tourist sites, meager plan outlay for the promotion of tourism industry.

I would like to suggest that the government should involve the private and public sector stakeholders as a part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) to improve the tourism sector in our country effectively.  So that various PSUs and the corporate sector units could extend their contribution to promote tourism by adopting important monuments and tourist destinations under the initiative.

India is one of the popular tourist destinations in Asia. India offers a wide array of places to see and things to do. The delighting backwaters, hill stations and landscapes make India a beautiful country.  Historical monuments, forts, beaches, places of religious interests, hill resorts, etc. add to the grandeur of the country. They attract tourists from all over the world.

I am representing Bengaluru Rural Lok Sabha constituency, where there is huge potential to develop Eco Tourism as number of important tourist destinations such as Mekedatu, Magadi Fort, Bannerughatta National Park, Cauvery wild life sanctuary and various natural spots are there to attract tourists from all over the world. Janapada Loka or “Folk-culture World” is a world of simplicity and art.  Janapada Loka, a subsidiary of the Karnataka Janapada Parishath, is dedicated to preserve and promote folk art and culture. The complex has an art gallery, an open-air theatre, a studio and a museum. Janapada Loka located near Ramanagaram is 53 Kms away from Bangalore. However, there is an urgent need to improve infrastructure to make the said tourist destinations accessible to every tourist across the world.

SHRI SANKAR PRASAD DATTA (TRIPURA WEST): Thank you, Chairman Sir.

          I rise to speak on the Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministries of Civil Aviation and Tourism for the year 2016-17.

          First of all, I would like to go through the Demands of the Civil Aviation Department. The allocation for Civil Aviation in this Budget, we are seeing, is less than last year’s allocation.  Since the year 2014-15, we have seen that gradually the Budget for the field of Civil Aviation has been decreasing. This year 38 per cent has been decreased; in the previous year, 37 per cent has been decreased. So, my humble request is that the Finance Department should look at the matter of the Civil Aviation Department as it is linked with the Tourism Department also. If the allocation for the Civil Aviation Department is not increased, tourism will not get a boost.

          The Standing Committee on Civil Aviation recommended this year that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, for boosting up the civil aviation sector, may consider the basic price of the aviation turbine fuel. The second recommendation was that the Finance Department may see and reduce the excise duty that is levied on the ATF so that the Civil Aviation Department can carry out the matter which is linked with them. It is being seen that the Department had declared that from 1st April this year for all the routes covered within one hour Rs. 2,500 would be the fare but everywhere we are seeing it is more than that. In some routes only it has been implemented. So, I strongly demand that this declaration should be implemented as early as possible.

          I would now like to come to my own State, a small State in the North-Eastern region. For two years, we are hearing about the modernisation of the Agartala airport. The Agartala airport is the second busiest airport in the North-Eastern region after Guwahati airport but still modernisation work has not been started. It was the demand of the people of the State that the Agartala airport which is in the southern part of the North-Eastern region should be linked with South-east Asia. It is necessary for Agartala airport to become an international airport. It has not been declared yet.

          With regard to tourism, I would like to say that in Tripura there are a number of beautiful sites.  We have the Tripureshwari Temple; in mythology it was told that when Sati was cut into several pieces then one piece out of 108 pieces of that fell in Udaipur, Tripura.  Nirmahal is another beautiful place.  A beautiful Bio-complex Shipahijala is also there.  I propose that a ropeway may be constructed connecting Shipahijala, Nirmahal and Tripureswari Mandir so that the tourists from outside may visit and enjoy these tourist places.

          My other proposal is that various tourist spots around the State Capital of Agartala should be connected with the ropeway so that the tourists can enjoy these places.

          A new spot, Chhabimura has been discovered.  This tourist place has not been travelled by many.  It is a beautiful place situated on the bank of Gomati River.  This tourist spot should be connected by a ropeway either from Maharani or from Amarpur.

          In my State, there are a number of places of tourist interest like Trisna Abhayaranya and Unokoti, a place of archaeological importance for the people of the whole country.

          Before Independence, Sirajudullah was defeated by Clive in Murshidabad, West Bengal.  This is a historic place.  So, at this place a Nawab Circuit is required to be created.  This should include Hazarduary, Imambara, Wasif Manzil, Nashipur Rajbari, Kathgola Bagan, Katra Mosque, Topkhana, Kadam Sarif and Nawab’s Samadhi at Khosbag.

          For creating jobs for the people of the country, it is my humble request and I urge upon the Departments of Civil Aviation and Tourism that the matters which I have raised should be taken into consideration.  With these words I conclude my speech.  Thank you.

                                                                  

*SHRI ANURAG SINGH THAKUR (HAMIRPUR):  I support the demands for grants for both the ministries – Civil Aviation and Tourism.  Let me take this opportunity to mention the achievements of both these ministries as well as talk about the budgetary demands for them.

The Civil Aviation ministry under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi has a simple moto:“Towards Safe, Secure and Affordable Air Travel”.  The Ministry has released the Draft National Civil Aviation Policy after extensive collaborations with stakeholders and to ease the tightly regulated aviation sector and boosting the available services. The mission on the Draft Civil Aviation Policy is to provide safe, secure, affordable and maintainable air travel with access to various parts of India and the world with an objective of enhanced regional connectivity, ease of doing business and promoting entire aviation sector chain from cargo, general aviation, aerospace manufacturing to skill development. The draft policy is also in alignment with Make in India, Skill India, and Start Up India amongst other initiatives of the government.

One of the main objectives of Draft Civil Aviation Policy is the development of International Air Cargo Hub at gateway airports in India. To achieve this objective, airports will be developed as regional cargo hubs, integrating multimodal transport facilities, cold chains and other commodity specific requirements.  The turnaround time for cargo will also be upgraded to international standards.

I am also delighted to inform that the passengers carried by domestic airlines during Jan-Oct 2015 were 660.60 lakhs as against 550.69 lakhs during the corresponding period of previous year, thereby registering a growth of almost 20%.  This tells about the increasing need for civil aviation sector and the government steps to enable simpler procedures for import/acquisition of aircraft by scheduled operators/regional scheduled operator by delegating power to grant initial NOC/in-principle approval to Director General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) is an encouraging step towards increasing and catering to regional demands.

There are about 160 airports and airstrips with state governments which can be revived at an indicative cost of Rs. 50 crore to Rs. 100 crore each. The government’s plan to partner with the state governments and AAI would help develop some of these airports for regional connectivity and I am glad that budgetary provisions have been made in this regard.

The increment in FDI by foreign airlines up to 49% in scheduled air transport service/domestic scheduled passenger airline/regional air transport service, 100% in non scheduled air transport services and 100% helicopter services/seaplane service requiring DGCA approval has been permitted subject to certain sectoral regulations.  This will encourage competition, bring in the best global practices and services and strive to make India a leading player in aviation sector.

I am very optimistic to hear that the ministry of Civil Aviation is in the process of creating a conducive environment for the growth of Maintenance, Repair & Overhaul (MRO) industry to enhance the viability of MRO business. Airports Authority of India (AAI) has finalized its policy for allotment of land at concessional rate and exemption from royalty charged for MROs – rationalization of the taxes and simplification of custom procedures to facilitate MROs. The MRO business of Indian carriers is around Rs. 5000 crore, 90% of which is currently spent outside India – in Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, UAE, etc. Given our technology and skill base, the government is keen to develop India as an MRO hub in Asia, attracting business from foreign airlines while retaining the domestic business.  The budget provisions of 2016-17 will go a long way in realizing this aim.

Airports are often soft targets for terrorists.  We have seen the horrendous attack by ISIS on the Brussels’s airport recently.  The government understands the need to boost security and I am glad to inform that as per the latest security audit conducted by International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), India’s Compliance with Annex 17 Standards of ICAO has been rated 99.59% which brings India’s aviation security rating at the topmost rung amongst the countries signatory to ICAO conventions. 

The Ministry is taking several steps towards skill development as well: undertaking of Skill Gap Analysis, task force to come up with suggestions on the industry’s requirements and ways and means to implement skill development training programs. In addition to this, AAI has entered into an agreement with IATA for training of large pool of professionals to keep AAI ahead of the curve in a world of rapid change.

I am extremely delighted to inform that the Air Navigation Services (ANS) directorate of Airport Authority of India (AAI), has been awarded the prestigious ‘Golden Peacock Award for Innovative Product/Service for the year 2015’ by the Institute of Directors. It is also encouraging to see that the National carrier Air India, is expected to slash its net losses by around 40% this fiscal and will receive Rs. 1,713 crore government funding for the next fiscal. The total outlay for the Civil Aviation Ministry stands at Rs. 4,417 crore for the fiscal 2016-17 and given the outstanding initiatives already taken by the ministry as well as the plans for the next fiscal, the demand for grants seem ideal. Hence my support for the same.

Coming to the Tourism Ministry, I want to congratulate the ministry for various accolades and achievements in the last year. Under the leadership of Shri Narendra Modi, India has moved 13 positions ahead from 65th to 52nd rank in Tourism & Travel competitive index as per world Economic Forum Report. E-tourist visa is now available for citizens of 113 countries arriving at 16 Airports in India. The Tourism Ministry is in the process of setting up of Medical and Wellness Tourism Promotion Board.  ‘Welcome Booklet’ for distribution at immigration counters for International Tourists have been launched by the ministry.  And these initiatives also reflect results in number.

Foreign Tourist arrivals from January to November, 2015 were 7.10 million, representing an increase of 4.5% over the same period of the previous year, which was 6.79 million. The Foreign Exchange earnings of staggering Rs. 1,12,958 crore during the same period has been widely appreciated.  Till December, 2014 e-Tourist Visa was available to the citizens of just 43 countries. During the year 2015, 70 more countries were covered under e-Tourist Visa regime. This facility is now available for citizens of 113 countries arriving at 16 Airports in India. During January-November, 2015 a total number of 3,41,683 tourists arrived on e-Tourist Visa while during the same period in 2014 a total number of 24963 tourist arrived on e-tourist visa registering a growth rate of staggering 1268.8%! India has been the spiritual hub since times immemorial. It is appreciative that Ministry of Tourism recognizes it and has taken major initiatives like Swadesh Darshan for integrated development of theme based circuits and National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD). These projects go a long way in the integrated development of circuits having tourist potential in a planned and prioritized manner, promoting cultural heritage of country, development of world-class infrastructure in circuit destinations, pro-poor tourism approach, promoting local arts, handicrafts, cuisine and generating employment.

One of the key and interesting initiatives has been the Swachh Bharat Swachh Pakwan (Hunar Zaika) to upgrade the skills and hygiene standards of Street Food Vendors. The vendors are sensitized to personal, environmental and waste disposal hygiene under the program and so far close to 6000 vendors have been certified.  The initiative covers two important initiatives of the Government – ‘Skill India’ and ‘Clean India’.

It is also humbling to see that the Ministry has collaborated extensively with HRD and Skill Development ministry in various initiatives.  In order to expand the 'Hunar se Rozgar Tak' scheme outreach, it was opened up to implementation by private organizations with domain specific credentials/ competence in terms of two verticals titled 'Badhate Kadam I' and 'Badhate Kadam II'. While Badhate Kadam I covers four hospitality trades namely Food Production, Food and Beverages Services, Bakery and Patisserie and Housekeeping Utility, Badhate Kadam II provides training courses to bring up Event Facilitators, Tour Assistants, Transfer Assistants and Office Assistants, Tourism Security Guards, Skin Care & Spa Therapists. Over 70000 youths were trained under the program last year and the Ministry’s plan to boost up these numbers even higher is very encouraging! I would like to also inform about various agreements that the Government of India has signed with other countries to strengthen cooperation in the field of Tourism. Some of these agreements have been signed by the visit of our PM himself to these countries.  The countries include – Republic of China, Tanzania, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Egypt, UAE and Cambodia.

I would also like to talk about the draft of the National Tourism Policy, 2015 that has been prepared after rounds of consultations held with Stakeholders, State Governments and Union Territory Administrations and experts and veterans in the field of Tourism. The main highlights of the draft new Policy are very encouraging with focus on employment generation, community participation in tourism development, stress on development of tourism in a sustainable and responsible manner, linkages with various Ministries, Departments, States/Union Territories and Stakeholders, setting up of a proposed “National Tourism Advisory Board”, “National Tourism Authority” and a dedicated university for tourism and hospitality education as well as emphasis on technology enabled development in tourism.

It is encouraging to see that the Tourism Ministry got 70% hike with respect to previous year in the Union budget with an allocation of Rs. 1,590 crore, to focus on infrastructure development and promotion and publicity initiatives. For 2016-17, the allocation of Rs. 900 crore for infrastructure development with over Rs. 700 crore for Swadesh Darshan scheme and Rs. 100 crore for PRASAD scheme has been made.  Rs. 413 crore has been allocated for promotion and publicity activities in India and abroad, including market development assistance, to woo tourists. Among other allocations, the government has earmarked an amount of Rs. 160 crore for training and skill development in the tourism sector. These allocations justify the actions taken by the government so far and would go a long way in fulfilling government’s initiatives for the following year. Hence, with this – I support the demand for grants for both the Civil Aviation and Tourism ministries. 

SHRI MEKAPATI RAJA MOHAN REDDY (NELLORE): Thank you, Sir, for giving me an opportunity to speak on both the Demands.  Sir, on behalf of YSR Congress Party I support these Demands.

          Sir, the Civil Aviation industry is experiencing a new era of expansion such as increasing Private Public Partnership, development of Greenfield Airports, FDI in domestic airlines, increase in the number of Low Cost Carriers and laying emphasis on regional connectivity and tourism.  There has been a growth in traffic at Indian Airports during 2015-16.  There has been a substantial increase; domestic traffic has increased by 20.4 per cent and international traffic by 7.8 per cent.

          During 2015-16 the Airports Authority of India completed new integrated terminal building at Tirupati Airport, development of Vijayawada, Rajahmundry, Kadapah Airports in Andhra Pradesh, new Civil Air Terminal at Chandigarh and commissioning of some other airports also.  I may mention that Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai airports are already functioning as a world class or Greenfield airports.

          Sir, Tirupati Airport has been declared as international airport but operations have yet to be started.  I would request the hon. Minister to look into that.

          The development of Greenfield Airports in Nellore and Kurnool districts and Nagarjuna Sagar and Donakonda in Prakasam Distrct also may be expedited besides Bhogapuram Greenfield International Airport near Vizag to increase more connectivity and thus improve tourism also.

          I may mention that development of airports through PPP mode would help in modernisation of airports and proposals to improve will bring down fares for short haul flights and facilitate higher foreign investment.  Regional connectivity scheme is necessary for this, fares to be capped at Rs.2500 per hour flying on regional airports.

Budget provision is aimed at reviving the non-served and underserved airports in the country for increasing regional connectivity. It is a welcome move that Government has provided in the Budget 2016 that the Central Government partner with the State Governments to develop some of these airports and airstrips. I would suggest that Government should identify such airports under the Central or State Governments for making them operational. At the same time, State Government should give commitments on tax exemptions, recurring operational cost by providing electricity water and security at the airport etc. To encourage foreign airlines to enter India, a decision has to be taken on the controversial 5/20 policy. Some airlines like Vistara and Air Asia have been seeking abolition of 5/20 rules which prevent domestic airlines from flying abroad before they have completed five years of operation and own 20 aircraft.

Since International routes are more lucrative than the domestic routes, a tussel has ensued between established carriers and new players over the 5/20 norm. The established players have claimed that removal of 5/20 rule is tantamount to discrimination against the old players whereas new players to be operated by TATA's through joint-ventures with foreign partners have said scrapping the 5/20 rule would be in the interest of the aviation sector as well as passengers. An early decision on the issue should be taken.

There is a need for developing India as a Maintenance, Repair and Overhauling (MRO) hub of Asia as has been mentioned by many hon. Members. The MRO business on Indian carrier is about Rs.5000 crore, 90 per cent of which is currently spent outside India, i.e., Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, UAE etc. Given our technology and skill base, we should develop India as an MRO hub in Asia, attracting business from foreign airlines while retaining the domestic business. The Government should, therefore, keep adequate funds for the purpose.

India has seen an increase in passenger's complaints especially in AI as compared to other airlines. The complaints should be looked into for proper redressal and reply to the complainants. The Government is generating revenues from the fleet of international passengers and cargo flights for using our international airports, air space and ATC signalling. No doubt, the revenue has been slightly increased during the last 3 years. It should suitably be revised as per laid down criteria at par with international standard.

Sir, Air India is bringing out a monthly magazine named "Shubhyatra". The main purpose of the official magazine is to promote the tourist traffic and related matters. But, sometimes the magazine deviates and is engaged in glorifying a State, its political leadership and damage others.  This should not be encouraged. I would request that the Government magazine should stick to its declared policy to devote fully to its business and not function as advocate for anybody.

As regards tourism, I thank the Minister for Tourism for visiting Nellor and also for sanctioning some amount which I should not reveal.  I am thankful to the Minister for that.  Please look into the needs of Andhra Pradesh also.  I endorse the sentiments of the hon. Members regarding tourism.  Now because of time constraint, I conclude.  I am in support of demands for grants relating to these two Ministries.

                                                                                

*SHRI R. DHRUVANARAYANA (CHAMARAJANAGAR):  The Ministry of Civil Aviation is responsible for the formulation and implementation of national policies and schemes in the civil aviation sector. Its functions include establishing new airports, maintaining and upgrading existing airports, regulating carriage of traffic by air and ensuring civil aviation safety and security.

          The total expenditure on the Ministry of Civil Aviation for 2016-17 is estimated at Rs. 2,591 crore.  This allocation has decreased by 38% from the revised estimates of 2015-16. The expenditure of the Ministry in 2015-16 (RE) was 37% lower than the actual expenditure in 2014-15.  Allocation to economic services which comprises of Aircraft Accident Investigation, expenditure on programmes on Enhancing Effectiveness of Indian Carriers, IT Networking and Capacity Building and Skill Development in Aviation Sector has decreased by more than 60%. With losses estimated at around Rs. 3,530 crore for this fiscal year and a debt burden of Rs. 51,367 crore, the government has allocated only a paltry amount of Rs. 2,000 crore against a demand of Rs. 4,300 crore. The investment in Air India has constantly been falling to almost 1/3rd in the current fiscal, after NDA came into power. The Ministry has observed that due to reduction of equity infusion in Air India as per the Turn Around Plan (TAP), Air India has to arrange funds through borrowing which increases its financial burden. Subsidy for operation of Haj charters, which is spent towards the welfare of Muslims, has also seen a significant decline under the current government.  While the UPA government has allocated Rs. 577 crore in 2014-15, the NDA government allocated only Rs. 450 crore in 2016-17, a decrease of 22%. The cost of Air Turbine Fuel (ATF) in the international market has been declining since 2012.  With the decrease in ATF prices the cost of operation for airlines has come down.  However, the price of ATF in India is higher than the price prevailing in competing hubs. Considering that ATF forms about 40-50% of the total operating cost for airlines, the high cost of fuel makes it difficult for incumbent Indian airlines to grow, and for new air carrier service providers to enter India’s civil aviation market.  High taxes on ATF impeded the ability of Indian international airports to compete and develop into international hubs for plane services such as maintenance, fuel and re-hauling. Efforts need to be made to reduce ATF and taxes on them.

The government needs to take measures to have a policy by which if private operators run on lucrative sectors gaining high profits, they have to cater to uneconomical destinations too, as these routes are unattended by these operators forcing the official carrier Air India to ply on these routes.  The government continues to tax MRO (Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul) activities and has not accepted the aviation sector’s demand for abolition of service tax on MRO activities. High taxes, coupled with a lack of adequate capabilities have been a bane for the MRO sector in India, which results in 90 per cent of airline maintenance contracts going outside India. Cost of servicing an aircraft in India will not be competitive enough in terms of cost unless the service tax on MRO is waived off.

There is a lack in regional air connectivity across India as a lot of small, but potential cities don’t have airports or even if they do, those are not operational and are just lying as ghost airports. In Mysuru, which is in my State Karnataka, people have been urging the Mysore Airport Director to take measures to resume commercial flight operations from Mysuru.  The private carrier that was earlier providing the service, only between Mysuru and Bangalore, was facing severe financial and staff crunch forcing it to abort the service. There is a major lack of connectivity for passengers from Mysuru to places within Karnataka and other major cities like Chennai, Hyderabad, etc.  I request the government to kindly improve regional air connectivity and set out a definite plan to facilitate air travel to and from smaller cities.

Tourism is a major factor in economic growth, an important source of foreign exchange earnings and a generator of a diverse kinds of employment.

While the tourism sector plays a key role in the economy of the country, there is massive under-spending by the Department of Tourism under the present government. Out of Rs. 1500 crore allocated in the last two years, only Rs. 283 crore was spent. The Standing Committee on Culture and Tourism has constantly sought explanation from the tourism secretary on the failure in spending the funds earmarked in budgets.  The committee has also pointed out that many State governments, including my State Karnataka, have not received funds allocated in the last two budgets for the various projects. This is at a time when foreign tourist arrivals (FTAs) to India rose 11.3 per cent in February this year at 8.46 lakh from 7.61 lakh visitors in February 2015.  Foreign Exchange Earnings (FEEs) rose 6.33 percent, from $ 1.87 billion to $ 1.99 billion.  Given these figures, instead of spending more on tourism, the department is under-spending.

The grants-in-aid to the States and Union Territories have been discontinued from this budget. The State of Karnataka has started the Cauvery Tourism Development Authority, to promote tourism in the Cauvery river basin spread over Mysuru, Mandya, Chamarajanagara, Kodagu, Coorg and Ramanagara districts. A proposal of Rs. 60 crore was sent to the Centre over a year ago for the development of the districts that are part of this Cauvery Mega Tourism Circuit.  The state government plans to open 46 tourist destinations to corporates to manage. No funds have been released by the government so far for this important project. I urge the Centre to release this amount so the project can see a smooth completion. I also request the Ministry to fully utilize the funds that have been allocated so that India will soon become the ultimate tourist destination.

 

*PROF. RICHARD HAY (NOMINATED): The Civil Aviation Ministry lost a golden opportunity to set up a 4000 metres runway airport at the newly built airport by KIAL at Kannur in North Kerala.  There is even now ample scope to construct a 4000 metres runway airport, which would have been possible had the Civil Aviation Ministry took the right initiative.  The new airport is close to the Azhnikhel sea port and could be well connected with Karnataka and other States.  The Civil Aviation Ministry has to think out of the box and facilitate development of large airports in the country where suitable logistics and land is available.  The development of Kannur Airport could have been made a transit hub and a cargo hub, thereby creating and develop much scope for economic opportunity- which could have generated ample employment opportunities.

          Kannur Airport even now could be developed into an International Airport considering its geographical advantages and proximity to sea port.  There is ample scope for tourism in this untapped area.

We are yet to learn how Dubai which was a barren desert metamorphosed into an international hub of commerce and trade.  Let us make sure of this golden opportunity to develop Kannur Airport  into an International Airport.  I urge upon the Government to look into the immense possibilities for the future growth and development of the Civil Aviation Industry in India.

          With regard to Tourism, I have come to understand that people from the Western countries, especially who ruled the whole of India like the British, and those who ruled parts of India like the Dutch, French and Portuguese are keenly interested to visit the relics, historical sites, churches and other buildings and developments of such countries during their rule in India.  Hence, if the Tourism Ministry could develop Tourist circuits connecting various landmark buildings, relics, churches, etc. and connect them with the tourism spots of our Country, there could be great demand from western tourists to see all these tourist spots if such places are promoted and organized well.

          In this connection, the need to promote the spice Route tourism will be of great significance.

          Spice Route Tourism spots can be connected with landmark buildings built during the reign of the western countries in India.

   

श्री जय प्रकाश नारायण यादव (बाँका) : सभापति महोदय, मैं आम बजट 2016-17 की अनुदान मांगों के कटौती प्रस्ताव पर बोलने के लिए खड़ा हुआ हूं। पर्यटन मंत्रालय और नागर विमानन मंत्रालय की डिमांड पेश हुई हैं। उसमें हमने एक डिमांड सुल्तानगंज से देवघर तक श्रावण मेले को रा­ष्ट्रीय मेला घो­िषत किए जाने की आवश्यकता जो 107 किलोमीटर लम्बा है, उस पर की है।        बिहार की विविधता, समृद्धि और संस्कृति को आकर्­िषत करने के लिए विकास हेतु  निधियां प्रदान की जाए। अतुल्य भारत कार्यक्रम के तहत मुंगेर जिले के भीम बांध अभ्यारण को शामिल किए जाने की आवश्यकता है। विमानपत्तन के लिए भागलपुर और पूर्णिया जिले में निर्माण कराए जाने की आवश्कता है। झारखंड के देवघर में विमानपत्तन निर्माण शीघ्रतापूर्वक कराय जाए। देश में पर्यटन की अपार संभावनाएं है, बिहार में भी इसकी संभावनाएं हैं। प्रकृति ने बिहार को बहुत कुछ दिया है, नदी है, पहाड़ है, जंगल है, प्रकृति की गोद में हंसता-बिहसता चमन और बगिया है , यहां पर्यटन के सैकड़ों स्थल हैं। जलमार्ग के माध्यम से, सड़क मार्ग के माध्यम से और वायु मार्ग के माध्यम से हम पर्यटन को विकसित कर सकते हैं और पर्यटक को लुभाने का काम कर सकते हैं। जितने पर्यटक को हम अपनी ओर आकर्­िषत करेंगे उतना ही हमें रोजगार मिलेगा, उतने ही संसाधन मिलेंगे, उतने ही हमारे पास धन इकट्ठे होंगे और इससे एक वातावरण का निर्माण होगा।

          बोध गया, राजगीर, मोतिहारी का महात्मा गांधी जहां उन्होंने सारी जिन्दगी आजादी की लड़ाई लड़ने का काम किया, वहां जैन धर्मालम्बियों का केन्द्र है, भागलपुर का विक्रमशीला, बांका में कई महत्वपूर्ण पर्यटक स्थल हैं। मुंगेर में, जमुई में, लखीसराय में और देवघर में, उतरायण गंगा जो सुल्तानगंज से बहती है, 107 किलोमीटर तक लोग कांवड़ लेकर जाते हैं, देश-विदेश से जाते हैं, लाखों-लाख  कावंडियां जाते हैं, उसे पर्यटक स्थल घो­िषत करने के लिए बार कहा जा रहा है। वहां सुरक्षा और सुविधा दिया जाए, वहां पैदल बच्चे भी चलते हैं, बूढ़े भी चलते हैं, मां भी चलती हैं, 107 किलोमीटर का वह अजीब मेला है, जिसमें लाखों लाख लोग जाते हैं। मंदार पर्वत जिसे अमृत के मथनी के रूप में कहा जाता है। प्रधानमंत्री जी ने भी घो­ाणा किया है कि दोनों परिपथ के लिए 50-50 करोड़ रुपये देने का काम करेंगे। अशोकधाम, ऋ­िाकुंड, सिंहऋ­िा, सीताकुंड, सीताचरण, जमुई का लछुआर, भीमबांध का गर्म जल का झरना, जलडीहा, विक्रमशीला और देवघर जैसे कई महत्वपूर्ण परिपथ है। उस परिपथ को बेहतर प्रबंधन के साथ आगे बढ़ाना है। ग्रामीण पर्यटक स्थल को भी आगे बढ़ाना है। इसे वित्तीय सहायता देना है, कैफेटेरिया बनाना, रेस्टोरेंट बनाना, टूरिस्ट हॉस्टल बनाना, वॉटर टूरिज्म को महत्व देना, रोजगार बढ़ाना, ऐसे कई सवाल हैं। समयाभाव के कारण हम बहुत सी चीजों की चर्चा नहीं कर पाएंगे। जहां तक पर्यटक स्थल का सवाल है उसमें भारी संभावनाएं हैं।

          बिहार को पर्यटन स्थल के रूप में जो मान्यता मिलना चाहिए, जितना उसका प्रचार-प्रसार होना चाहिए और जितनी धनराशि मिलनी चाहिए उसमें भारी कटौती और कमी की जाती है, इसे सुधारने की जरूरत है। मैं माननीय मंत्री जी से आग्रह करता हूं और पुरजोर मांग करता हूं, जहां तक एयर इंडिया का सवाल है इसकी प्रतिस्पर्धा प्राइवेट सेक्टर से है। अगर एयर इंडिया के रखरखाव और सुरक्षा नहीं करेंगे तो हम पिट जाएंगे और प्राइवेट जहाज के मालिक मालामाल हो जाएगा। यह स्थिति बहुत ही खतरनाक है, यह स्थिति आज की नहीं है। माननीय मंत्री जी जहाज मंत्री रहे हैं सब कुछ जानते हैं। जीएमआर का पूरा नेटवर्क है वहां फेरी वाले सीनियर सिटिजन को, गर्भवती मां-बहन को, सामान्य यात्री को लेकिन प्राइवेट जहाज वाले राजा की तरह एक्ट करता है,             सभापति महोदय, प्राईवेट एयरलाइन वाले खानपान, सुरक्षा और सुविधा में मनमानी करते हैं। यदि आप तत्काल में टिकिट लेते हैं, तो वे मनमानी करते हैं। मान लीजिए ऑर्डिनरी रूप में 3 हजार रुपए में टिकिट मिलती है और यदि तत्काल में टिकिट लेनी हो, तो उसी टिकिट को 7 हजार रुपए में देते हैं। पता नहीं इतना पैसा कहां से और कैसे बढ़ जाता है? वहां की एजेंसी मनमानी करती है। इसलिए मैं माननीय मंत्री जी से अनुरोध करना चाहता हूं कि इस पर रोक लगाइए। प्राइवेट सेक्टर का यह बहुत बड़ा घपला है। ...(व्यवधान)...

माननीय सभापति :  श्री जय प्रकाश नारायण जी, कृपया समाप्त कीजिए।

श्री जय प्रकाश नारायण यादव  : सभापति महोदय, मैं सिर्फ एक मिनट में खत्म कर रहा हूं।

          महोदय, पटना के एयरपोर्ट को बेहतर बनाया जाए। हमारा भागलपुर, देवघर और पूर्णियां का जो हवाई अड्डा है, वहां हवाई जहाज चलाए जाएं। देवघर बहुत महत्वपूर्ण जगह है। वहां से पटना-देवघर-कोलकाता तक हवाई जहाज चला सकते हैं। हमारा जो एयर इंडिया है, उसको बेहतर बनाने की तरफ ध्यान दीजिए। इसके साथ ही मैं कहना चाहता हूं कि जी.एम.आर. पर भी आप कठोर निर्णय लीजिए। इतना ही कहकर मैं अपनी बात समाप्त करता हूं।

                                                                                               

* DR. MAMTAZ SANGHAMITA (BARDHMAN DURGAPUR): Civil Aviation is a sector which is very important in modern Indian perspective.  As domestic as well as International travelers have increased it woule be well revenue raising.  Unfortunately, in spite of ATF price decrease which contributes to 40% of air fare still the traveling expenses have not decreased. 

          As stated by Hon’ble Minister, the allotted fund to Air India has been increased and there is an increase in profit by 10%.  The functioning of Air India is not upto the mark.  Recently, Air India showed some improvement in time schedule still it is lagging much behind private airlines ( namely Indigo, Jet etc.)           The Government is intending to increase local domestic travels and intend to functionalise some non-functional airports.  Well presently newly built Kazi Nazrul Airport at Ondal is functioning.  There is flight from Delhi to Durgapur and Kolkata.  This airport needs more attention.  There should be provision of shuttle bus from airport to Durgapur city centre.  After Indian airlines and Air India were merged,   the flights between Kolkata to Patna, Ranchi and Jamshedpur have been withdrawn.  At the same time, private airlines have increased their number of flights to these sectors and are making huge profit.

          Public want to avail Indian transport (Desi service).  At the moment, only Emirates, Al-Etihad and Qatar airlines run between Kolkata to middle East.  If Air India flight is arranged, it would be profitable.  There is urgent need of extension or second airport in the same place, government should allot funds for that.  Everywhere in Government or Government undertaking retirement age is 60 years for office staff, but in Air India it is 58 years.  Government should look into this matter.  Moreover, contractual service men now employed usually are not experienced in handling or giving proper service to customers.  If the retirement age is increased it would help to reduce dearth of office and other ground staff.

With regarding to Tourism, Tourism is a sector which can bring inclusive growth in national economy.  According to the world travel and tourism council by 2024, tourism will directly and indirectly contribute 4.2% of World GDP. 

          Tourism increases job opportunities, cultural intermingling and revenue earning.  Government is mostly focusing on religious tourism circuit, but India being a country of diverse cultural, diverse natural beauties, varieties of wild life as well as rich in Indian and modern medical system,   Government should concentrate more on cultural tourism, tourism in rain forests, wildlife sanctuaries as well as other sort of eco-tourism.  These are not only attractive for local tourism, but also attract foreign tourists which is much more revenue earning.  So far, our East and North-East regions are concerned,  specially Assam and seven sisters, there are wonderful states for promoting cultural, natural and community tourism.  In Bengal, the north Bengal rain forests and tiger reserves are very attractive spots for nature lovers.  Government of India should give some boost to West Bengal which is a very good spot for medical tourism.  It already caters patients from Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.  Mumbai is a good spot for international medical tourism from Middle East.  Tourism ministry should give special thought to it.  Historic circles of tourism should help intellectual people.  Tourism helps in cultural upliftment, revenue earning, educational upliftment of society and mankind as a whole.

          In West Bengal, historic circle many involve malda (Gour Masjid) Murshidabad Nawab palace, Nawab Sirajdowlaz cemetery etc.  During Pal dynasty, beautiful terrocota Mandirs were there at Bishnupur Bankura.  Earlier, they held art festivals for 15 days of classical song and dance.  All these need media exposure to promote tourism.  Recently, there was a few instances of harassment of foreign tourists.  The Government should take special measures for protection of tourists in tourist places.

 

श्री प्रेम सिंह चन्दूमाजरा (आनंदपुर साहिब) : सभापति महोदय, मैं सिविल एविएशन और टूरिज्म मिनिस्ट्री की जो डिमांड्स फॉर ग्रांट्स हैं, उनके समर्थन में बोलने के लिए खड़ा हुआ हूं। मैं समझता हूं कि आज हमारे देश की जो स्थिति है, पहले तो यहां धार्मिक तौर पर टूरिज्म होता था, अब हमारे देश के लोग टूरिज्म को बढ़ावा दे रहे हैं और विशष तौर पर जब से “ स्वच्छ भारत अभियान” शुरू हुआ है, तब से विदेशी टूरिज्म बढ़ा है। मैं समझता हूं कि सड़क के माध्यम से भी कनैक्टीविटी बढ़ती है। हमारे देश में 4 लेन्स बनें, एक्सप्रेस हाइवे बनें और 6 लेन्स बनें, तो इनसे कनैक्टिविटी बढ़ती है, लेकिन चूंकि समय का अभाव है, इसलिए लोग हवाई जहाज से जाना चाहते हैं। हवाई सेवाओं में बहुत सुधार करने की जरूरत है। मैं सिर्फ दो-तीन सुझाव देना चाहता हूं।

          सभापति महोदय, हमारे देश में जो प्रिलग्रिमेज सर्किट बना है और उसमें जो साइट्स आइडेंटीफाई की गई हैं, मैं निवेदन करूंगा कि उनमें आनन्दपुर साहिब को भी लिया जाए। आनन्दपुर साहिब मेरी कांस्टीटय़ूएंसी का नाम भी है और जो आनन्दपुर साहिब जगह है, उसकी विशे­षता भी है। वहां से जे. एंड के. को भी रास्ता जाता है और वह स्थान खालसा पंथ की जन्मभूमि भी है। वहां और धर्मों के स्थान भी हैं। वहां श्री नयना देवी जी का मंदिर बहुत महत्वपूर्ण है। बाबा बालकनाथ जी का स्थान है। वहां बाबा बड़भाग सिंह जी का स्थान है। गुरू रविदास जी का खुरालघाट और विशे­ातौर पर जो वाटर टूरिज्म है, उसे बढ़ावा दिया जा सकता है, क्योंकि वहां नीचे सतलुज दरिया बहता है। इसलिए मैं समझता हूं कि टूरिज्म के लिए यदि सबसे अच्छा कोई स्थान हो सकता है, तो वह आनन्दपुर साहिब हो सकता है।

          सभापति महोदय, हमारी सरकार ने गुरू गोविन्द सिंह जी का 350वां जन्मदिन, रा­ष्ट्रीय स्तर पर मनाने का फैसला किया है। गुरू गोविन्द सिंह जी पर हम गर्व कर सकते हैं, क्योंकि आज देश के अलग-अलग धर्म, अलग-अलग पहनावे और अलग-अलग भा­षाएं होने के बावजूद यदि देश आज एक है, जिसे इस देश की खूबसूरती माना जाता है, तो यह सिर्फ गुरू गोविन्द सिंह जी की वजह से है। गुरू गोविन्द सिंह जी ने अपने पिता को बलिदान देने के लिए श्री आनन्दपुर साहिब से भेजा। इसके कारण ही, हमारे देश के अलग-अलग धर्म और भा­षाएं अलग-अलग होते हुए भी हमारा देश, एक देश के रूप में बच पाया। इसलिए हम उनके इस वर्ष के जन्मदिन को 350वें जन्म दिन के रूप में मनाने जा रहे हैं। ऐसे शुभ अवसर पर मैं चाहता हूं कि मंत्री महोदय, आनन्दपुर साहिब को रिलीजियस टूरिज्म के हब के रूप में विकसित करने का काम करें। यदि ऐसा किया जाएगा, तो गुरू गोविन्द सिंह जी को यह बहुत बड़ा ट्रिब्यूट होगा।

          सभापति महोदय, मैं दूसरी बात कहना चाहता हूं कि पंजाब के एस.ए.एस. नगर, मोहाली में एक इंटरनैशनल एयरपोर्ट बना है। पहले तो उसके नाम का विवाद चलता रहा। हरियाणा वालों ने कोई और नाम रखने का सुझाव दिया और पंजाब सरकार ने शहीद भगत सिंह के नाम का सुझाव दिया। अब हरियाणा सरकार ने भी उस एयरपोर्ट का नाम शहीद भगत सिंह आजाद के नाम से रखने पर सहमति जता दी है। अतः मैं माननीय मंत्री जी से विनती करता हूं चूंकि उस एयरपोर्ट के नाम को लेकर अब तो कोई विवाद नहीं है, इसलिए उसका नाम शहीदे-आजम, भगत सिंह के नाम पर रखने का ऐलान करें।

          महोदय, तीसरी बात मैं बताना चाहता हूं कि पिछले व­र्ष माननीय प्रधान मंत्री जी, दिनांक 11 सितम्बर को उस एयरपोर्ट का उद्घाटन कर के आए, लेकिन वहां से आज तक इंटरनैशनल फ्लाइट्स शुरू नहीं हुई हैं। लोग इस बारे में चर्चा करते हैं। वहां लोग इसके विरुद्ध अदालत में चले गए हैं। वहां के लोग कहते हैं कि मोहाली का एयरपोर्ट जी.एम.आर. वाले नहीं चलने देते हैं। मैं पूछना चाहता हूं कि वे क्यों नहीं चलने देते हैं?  मैं माननीय मंत्री जी से निवेदन करना चाहता हूं कि यदि वहां से कोई और एयरलाइन अपनी फ्लाइट्स नहीं चलाना चाहती है, तो कम से कम सरकारी एयर कंपनी एयर इंडिया की फ्लाइट्स तो वहां से शुरू करा दीजिए।

          दूसरा, मैं डोमेस्टिक फ्लाइट्स के बारे में कहना चाहूंगा। मैं कल ही श्री हरमिन्दर साहब, गोल्डन टैम्पल, अमृतसर में जाकर माथा टेका है। इन्होंने वहां से भी एयर फ्लाइट के लिए कहा है। इस बारे में हम पहले भी माननीय मंत्री जी से कई बार मिल चुके हैं। गुरू गोबिन्द सिंह जी ने कहा था कि मेरा सिख जिंदगी में एक बार हुजूर साहब जरूर आयेगा। यह सिखों की आस्था है और वे वहां जाते हैं। लेकिन वहां जाने के लिए चार दिन लगते हैं और चार दिन आने में लग जाते हैं। अगर वहां चार दिन रह गये, तो इस तरह पन्द्रह दिन लग जाते हैं। माननीय मंत्री जी का कहना है कि एयर लाइंस तैयार नहीं है और वे घाटे में जा रही हैं। मैंने इन्हें सुझाव दिया है, जिसे मैं हाउस में भी बताना चाहता हूं कि हमारे ऐसे बहुत सारे ऐसी सिख सप्रदाय हैं, जिनमें शिरोमणि गुरूद्वारा प्रबंधक कमेटी है, दिल्ली सिख गुरूद्वारा प्रबंधक कमेटी है। वे कहते हैं कि हम एक व­र्ष की एडवांस बुकिंग करवा लेते हैं। अगर ऐसा है तो आपको वह डोमेस्टिक एयरलाइंस शुरू कर देनी चाहिए।

          सभापति महोदय, नांदेड़ के सांसद साहब भी मंत्री जी से मिले थे। उनका कहना है कि महारा­ष्ट्र के सासंद भी कह रहे हैं कि वहां से डोमेस्टिक एयरलाइंस होनी चाहिए। चंडीगढ़ से नांदेड़ साहब, हुजूर साहब के लिए जरूर एयर फ्लाइट होनी चाहिए, क्योंकि उसमें लोगों का विश्वास है। इसी तरह अमृतसर ...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति :   चन्दूमाजरा जी, अब आप अपनी बात समाप्त कीजिए।

श्री प्रेम सिंह चन्दूमाजरा:सभापति महोदय, मैं एक मिनट में अपनी बात समाप्त कर रहा हूं। जहां गोल्डन टैम्पल है, वहां दुनिया भर के डिग्निटेरीज माथा टेकने जाते हैं। दुख की बात है कि पहले वहां से अंतर्रा­ट्रीय फ्लाइट चलती थी, लेकिन अब उसे भी बंद कर दिया गया है। मेरा निवेदन है कि पंजाब से श्री अमृतसर साहब, गुरू रामदास एयरपोर्ट और शहीद-ए-आजम साहब भगत सिंह जो नया एयरपोर्ट बना है, इन दो जगहों से अंतर्रा­ष्ट्रीय फ्लाइट चलनी चाहिए। इसी तरह डोमेस्टिक फ्लाइट भी चलनी चाहिए। नांदेड़ साहब में भी एयरपोर्ट बना है, और यहां भी बना है, इसलिए वहां से डोमेस्टिक फ्लाइट्स चलनी चाहिए।

                                                                                     

श्री जगदम्बिका पाल (डुमरियागंज):  अधिष्­ठाता महोदय, मैं आपका आभारी हूं कि आपने वर्ष 2016-17 के नागर विमानन और पर्यटन मंत्रालय की नियंत्रणाधीन अनुदानों की मांगों के समर्थन में बोलने का अवसर दिया, उसके लिए आपका बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद। निश्चित तौर से किसी भी देश और समाज की इकोनामी को ऊपर ले जाने में पर्यटन और नागर विमानन एक महत्वपूर्ण भूमिका निभाते हैं। मुझे खुशी है कि श्री के.सी. वेणुगोपाल जी ने भी इस बात को स्वीकार किया कि एनडीए की सरकार बनने के बाद दुनिया में पर्यटन के क्षेत्र में हमारा जो 65वां रैंक  था, हम पिछले दो व­ााॉ में 52वें रैंक पर आ गये हैं।

18.38 hours                             (Shri Hukum Singh in the Chair)           सभापति महोदय, हमारे पर्यटन की संभावनाएं तेरह देशों से ऊपर बढ़ी हैं। हमारे पर्यटकों की संख्या बढ़ी है, हमारा फॉरेन एक्सचेंज बढ़ा है। यह अभूतपूर्व ही है कि पिछले एक साल से दुनिया में भारत का स्थान बढ़ा है। इसके लिए भारतीय जनता पार्टी, एनडीए सरकार बधाई की पात्र है, क्योंकि उन्होंने पर्यटन के क्षेत्र में जो कार्यक्रम शुरू किये हैं, यह उसी का सार्थक परिणाम है। यह भी सच्चाई है कि --

India moves 13 positions ahead, from 65th to 52nd  rank in Tourism and Travel Competitive Index as per the World Economic Forum (Davos) Report.  ऐसा नहीं है कि हमने इस रिकार्ड को कहा है। मैं दो-तीन उदाहरण देना चाहता हूं कि -- 

At ITB 2015 held in Berlin in March, 2015 the Indian Pavilion set up by the Ministry of Tourism won the second place for the Best Stand in Asia, Australia and Oceania category. The Ministry of Tourism participated at WTM, World Travel Market, held from 2nd 2nd to 5th November, 2015 in London. The theme of the India Pavilion was Yoga. A live yoga demonstration was organised at the India Pavilion during all the four days of WTM, 2015. The WTM, London was one of the largest attended travel shows. At WTM, London, India was voted as the Most Preferred Destination in Asia. आज लंदन में जो ओ.टी. हुई है, उसमें इंडिया के डेस्टिनेशन को पर्यटन के क्षेत्र में सबसे अच्छा माना गया है। निश्चित तौर से भारत सरकार की माननीय मोदी जी के नेतृत्व में बहुत बड़ी उपलब्धि है। हमने केवल वर्ल्ड ट्रैवल मार्किट में ही स्थान नहीं पाया है,  Even at the World Travel Market Africa 2015 held in Cape Town, South Africa, in April 2015, the India Tourism Stand of the Ministry received the Best Feature Award  from M/s. Reed Travel Expo (organizers of the even). India participated as the Guest Country of Honour at the China International Tourism Mart (CITM) held in Kunming, China in November, 2015; India Tourism won three awards at CITM 2015 -   Award for Best Booth Design, Award for Best Organization, the Best Innovation of Sales Award. Tourist tourism Tokyo participated in Busan International Trade Fair, 2015 in Busan, Korea, India Pavilion received received two awards. मैं कितने अवार्ड्स बताऊं, चाहे कोरिया हो, लंदन हो, चीन हो, आज दुनिया में नजरिया बदला है और यह नजरिया माननीय मोदी जी के नेतृत्व में बदला है।

       मैं केवल एक बात कहना चाहता हूं कि आप जिस क्षेत्र से आते हैं, चाहे लखनऊ हो, हिंदुस्तान की किसी राजधानी से कोई टूरिस्ट आता है या हम आते हैं, दिल्ली एयरपोर्ट पर कम से कम 15-20 मिनट कन्जेशन रहता है। पायलट कहता है कि सिक्वेंस में छठा, आठवां नंबर है। हम सोचते हैं कि 8.40 पर चलेंगे और 11 बजे पार्लियामेंट पहुंच जाएंगे लेकिन 11.30 बजे तक नहीं उतर पाते हैं। आज हिथ्रो के बाद, फ्रैंकफर्ट के बाद सबसे ज्यादा बिजी एयरपोर्ट हो गया है। मैं माननीय मंत्री जी से अनुरोध करूंगा कि दिल्ली पर बढ़ते हुए दबाव को देखते हुए एनसीआर में जेवर में कम से कम नया अंतर्रा­ट्रीय हवाई अड्डा बनाने का काम करें ताकि दुनिया के मानचित्र में आए कि देश की राजधानी एनसीआर में दो हवाई अड्डे बन गए हैं।

       मैं इस बात के लिए बधाई देता हूं कि माननीय मोदी जी ने पर्यटन को प्लान्ड, डिजाइन्ड क्लियर कट रोड मैप दिया है। चाहे रामायणा सर्किट हो, कृ­णा सर्किट हो, हिमालयन सर्किट हो, नार्थ-ईस्ट सर्किट हो, इसमें सबसे महत्वपूर्ण बुद्धिस्ट सर्किट है जिसमें सात महत्वपूर्ण स्थान हैं। इसमें से पांच यूपी में हैं, सारनाथ, वाराणसी, कुशी नगर, कपिलवस्तु जो बुद्ध का जन्म स्थान है। इन महत्वपूर्ण स्थानों को कनैक्टिविटी दें। मैं माननीय मंत्री जी से मांग करता हूं कि कुशी नगर, जहां एयरपोर्ट है, वहां फंक्शनल एयरपोर्ट की घो­षणा बजट में करें। उत्तर प्रदेश में केवल पांच एयरपोर्ट हैं जबकि केरल में यूपी से छोटा स्टेट है और केवल 22 करोड़ की आबादी है, वहां छः एयरपोर्ट हैं। कर्नाटक में छः एयरपोर्ट हैं। लखनऊ में वर्ल्ड रेटिंग हुई है और तीसरा सबसे ज्यादा ट्रेफिक जेनरेट करने वाला शहर बन गया है। कानपुर, गोरखपुर, आगरा भी हैं। मैं समझता हूं कि इस तरफ ध्यान देना चाहिए। सौभाग्य से नागर विमानन उड्डयन मंत्री, महेश शर्मा जी उत्तर प्रदेश से आते हैं। निश्चित तौर से यह परिवर्तन होगा क्योंकि मांग तो बहुत दिनों से है।

          एनसीआर में हवाई अड्डे की बात चल रही थी, जेवर की चल रही थी, कुशी नगर की चल रही थी लेकिन कुछ कारणों से नहीं हो पा रहा था। मैं उम्मीद करता हूं कि भारतीय जनता पार्टी एनडीए सरकार में इस बजट का सभी समर्थन करेंगे और उत्तर प्रदेश में दो नए एयरपोर्ट की घो­षणा जरूर होगी।

          जहां तक पर्यटन की बात है, बहुत कदम उठाए गए हैं। मेडिकल टूरिज्म बोर्ड, साउंड लाइट सिस्टम, टोल फ्री हैल्प है, स्वच्छ पर्यटन के लिए 35 जगह चुनी हैं, मैं इस पर नहीं जाना चाहता हूं। मैं केवल एक ही बात कहना चाहता हूं कि एक पालिसी बनी और ई-टूरिस्ट वीजा शुरु किया है, इससे 5,74,813 पर्यटकों की संख्या हो गई है। यह संख्या 599 टाइम्स बढ़ी है जबकि पिछली बार 83,213 पर्यटक थे। लोगों में मैसेज गया है कि इंडिया सेफेस्ट प्लेस है।

          महोदय, आप उत्तर प्रदेश से आते हैं। मुझसे पहले कई माननीय सदस्यों ने केरल की बात कही, कर्नाटक की बात कही, राजस्थान की बात कही, मैं समझता हूं कि मुझे भी उत्तर प्रदेश की बात कहने के लिए पर्याप्त समय मिलना चाहिए।

माननीय सभापति : ये सभी प्रदेश भी भारत के हिस्से हैं।

श्री जगदम्बिका पाल:चाहे महाभारत का क्षेत्र रहा हो, चाहे बृज का क्षेत्र रहा हो, हमारा काशी हो या वाराणसी हो या भगवान राम का क्षेत्र अयोध्या हो या ताजमहल हो जो कि दुनिया के सात वंडर्स में से एक है, यहां पर्यटन की असीम संभावनाएं हैं। बुद्धिस्ट सर्किट पर 170 करोड़ रुपए दिए हैं, ये तो खर्च किए जाएंगे ही लेकिन कुशी नगर के साथ-साथ आप सारनाथ को, कुशी नगर को, पिपरहवा को, कपिलवस्तु को, श्रावस्ती, सिद्धार्थ नगर को नेशनल हाईवे से कनेक्टिविटी देंगे। बिहार का बक्सर भी है। यहां बहुत ही महत्वपूर्ण संभावनाएं हैं, इन संभावनाओं पर मंत्री जी को जरूर ध्यान देना चाहिए। मैं मंत्री जी का आभार व्यक्त करूंगा कि वे बुद्धिस्ट सर्किट पर दो बार जा चुके हैं। कम से कम दो बार वे पिपरहवा गए।

          महोदय, बुद्धिस्ट सर्किट लोगों की मांग है, जापान, चाइना, इंडोनेशिया से लोग आते हैं, कि गौतम बुद्ध जी के अस्थि कलश जो दिल्ली के नेशनल म्यूजिम में दो रखी हैं, उसमें से एक पिपरहवा कपिलवस्तु जो सिद्धार्थ नगर में जन्म स्थली है, अगर उसके संग्राहलय में एक कलश रखने की घो­षणा करेंगे तो निश्चित रूप से पूरी दुनिया से वहां बुद्धिस्ट्स के आने का कस्टम बढ़ेगा। लुम्बनी में कस्टम लैंड स्टेशन बना है, पिपरहवा जिससे जुड़ा है।

          जब मोदी जी वहां की संविधान सभा में गए थे, आने वाले दिनों में उस रा­ट्रीय संग्राहलय में गौतम बुद्ध का अस्थि कलश रखा जाएगा। इस बात के साथ मैं इस बजट का समर्थन करते हुए अपनी बात समाप्त करता हूं।  

 माननीय सभापति : मेरा निवेदन है कि सदन का संचालन जगह-जगह से हो, यह अच्छा नहीं लगता है। अगर यहीं से सदन का संचालन हो तो अच्छा रहेगा।

   

डॉ. अरुण कुमार (जहानाबाद) : महोदय, आपने मुझे टूरिज्म और एविएशन मंत्रालय की डिमांड फोर ग्रांट्स पर बोलने का समय दिया है, इसके लिए मैं आपका आभारी हूं।

          महोदय, समय का अभाव है, इसलिए मैं कुछ बातों को आपके माध्यम से मंत्री जी के ध्यान में लाना चाहता हूं। मैं बिहार के जहानाबाद से चुनकर आता हूं। निश्चित तौर से माननीय मंत्री जी ने टूरिज्म के क्षेत्र में कम संसाधनों में एक बड़ी ऊंचाई को छुआ है, अंतर्रा­ट्रीय मैप पर भी हिन्दुस्तान को खड़ा किया है। मैं माननीय मंत्री जी से निवेदन करना चाहूंगा कि जहानाबाद में एक अति प्रसिद्ध बानावर पहाड़ है, जिसमें सात गुफाए हैं। अभी तक लोग दो गुफा तक ही गए हैं। वहां एक शिव मंदिर भी है। वहां काफी श्रद्धालु आते हैं। उसके ठीक नीचे धराउत गांव को प्रधानमंत्री ग्रामीण सड़क योजना के तहत लिया गया है। वह राजा अग्रसेन की राजधानी थी। वहां भगवान बुद्ध के भी अवशे­ा हैं। वहां खुदाई की जाए और टूरिज्म को डेवलप किया जाए। वहां भगवान वि­णु का भी मंदिर है। हमारे राजगीर के तपोवन में गर्म कुंड का झरना है। नवादा में ककोलत में ठंडे पानी का अनुभव पचास मीटर दूर से ही होने लगता है। यह सारी प्राकृतिक संभावनाएं हैं और इस पर राज्य सरकार ने ध्यान नहीं दिया है। वहां के संसाधनों से विकास संभव नहीं है।  जिस तरीके से आपने प्रसाद दर्शन और स्वदेश दर्शन का अभियान चलाकर विभिन्न सर्किट्स को जोड़ा है अगर इसमें दो जगह देव और अंगारी को सुर्ज सर्किट में जोड़ा जाए तो बहुत अच्छा होगा। यह भी लोक आस्था का बड़ा केन्द्र है। इससे भी पर्यटन में बड़ा उछाल आएगा। 

           इसलिए माननीय मंत्री जी से टूरिज्म के विकास में और कई आयाम हैं, जिनमें एविएशन भी है। ट्रांसपोर्टेशन में रेल-रोड, लॉ एंड ऑर्डर, कम्युनिकेशन आदि बहुत-से आयाम हैं। यदि इन सबमें समेकित रूप से विकास हो, तो निश्चित रूप से सीमित संसाधनों में आपने जितना दो वर्षों में किया है, वह इस क्षेत्र में एक बड़ा उछाल है। यह रोज़गार का एक बड़ा माध्यम बन सकता है। फॉरेन एक्सचेंज लाने में बड़ी सुविधा हो सकती है और लोगों को इससे एक बड़ी उम्मीद बंधी है।

          एनडीए-वन की सरकार ने गया में एयरपोर्ट की शुरुआत हुई। उसके इनेगुरल फ्लाइट में हम थाइलैंड गये थे। गया से बैंकाक की फ्लाइट चलायी गयी थी। उस समय श्री शाहनवाज़ हुसैन जी एविएशन मिनिस्टर थे। उस समय गया एयरपोर्ट का जो विकास हुआ, उसके बाद उसका कोई विकास नहीं हुआ है।

          बोध गया में इंटरनैशनल एयरपोर्ट के शुरू होने के बाद इसका कई गुणा विस्तार हुआ है। होटलों का भी विस्तार हुआ है और अन्य कई संभावनाएँ भी बढ़ी हैं। गया एयरपोर्ट राँची और बनारस के बीच सबसे महत्वपूर्ण एयरपोर्ट है। पटना एयरपोर्ट काफी रिस्की है। इसलिए गया एयरपोर्ट को और विकसित करने की जरूरत है। गया में हर व­र्ष पितृपक्ष मेला होता है। वहाँ वि­णुपद मंदिर है तथा यह एक बौद्धिस्ट सर्किट भी है।

माननीय सभापति  : अरूण कुमार जी, कृपया अपनी बात समाप्त करें।

डॉ. अरुण कुमार : इसलिए हम माननीय एविएशन मिनिस्टर साहब से कहना चाहेंगे कि जब हम लोग पटना एयरपोर्ट पर उतरते हैं, तो उस वक्त जरूर हनुमान चालीसा का पाठ करते रहते हैं। सुरक्षित रूप से उतर जाते हैं, तभी समझते हैं कि हम चले आए। कभी-कभी ऐसा होता है कि जो हवाई जहाज होता है, वह भगवान भरोसे होता है। एक घटना के हम साक्षी हैं। एक बार एक एयर इंडिया के हवाई जहाज में तीन कैबिनेट मंत्री थे। वह हवाई जहाज एक घंटे विलम्ब से चली। उस हवाई जहाज का ब्रेक ही खराब था। हम लोग इस क­ट को अनुभव करते रहते हैं।

माननीय सभापति  :  अब आपका समय समाप्त हो गया। कृपया बैठिए।

SHRI NINONG ERING (ARUNACHAL EAST): Mr. Chairman, Sir, I would like to thank you for giving me this opportunity to speak on the Demands for Grants for Civil Aviation and Tourism. 

          Both, civil aviation and tourism, are important to the growth of economy and these are inter-dependent to each other. However, we must first build basic infrastructure in tourism and then try to provide civil aviation facilities in the acceleration of tourism. Even both the blocks should be looked independently and can be tried to develop on the basis of area approach. 

          Now, coming to the North Eastern Region, when we speak about this Region, three things are very important for the development of tourism and civil aviation.  They are commerce, culture and connectivity.  You must be knowing that the North-East is very poorly connected as far as the civil aviation is concerned.  Same is the case in the railways and the roads. These three things are very important for the development of tourism in the North Eastern Region. 

          Some of the speakers just spoken about Viability Gap Funding, which was given to the North East Council and which benefited the people of the North East.  Now, it has now been withdrawn.  I would like to request the hon. Minister of Civil Aviation and also hon. Minister of Tourism that we have to continue this Viability Gap Funding as was prevalent before.

          We came to know that seven or eight ATRs were purchased.  Out of them, one was earmarked for the North East.  I think, we had discussed this before also.  Now, it is learnt that not even one ATR is there.  We already have the provision for that in Guwahati.  I think, one ATR should especially be there so that it can connect all the North Eastern States. 

          The rates of flights from North East are so costly.  When we fly to Bangkok or even Singapore, the up and down journey is equivalent to that of going to Dibrugarh or even from Delhi to Aizawl.  So, this also has to be seen into by the hon. Minister.  The flights of Jorhat, Lakhimpur, Silchar, Imphal have also to be looked into.       These were prevalent before.  Now, these have been disconnected because of the NSCN factor.

          Sir, we have discussed several times about the airports in Arunachal Pradesh.  They are now already ready.  This is one State where we do not have even one airport.  So, I would request the hon. Minister to take it in right earnest on this issue.  Anyway, we are trying our best from our side also.  आप इस पर ध्यान दीजिए।

The main thing is that we need choppers. In Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland, we need choppers to go to interior places. I think, a provision of choppers should be again made as before.

          We speak about the development of the beautiful world standard state of arts of airports in Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Kolkata, which had all come up during the UPA regime.  We want that these kinds of airports should be facilitated to other parts of the country, especially to the North Eastern Region.

          पर्यटन के विषय में मैं बोलना चाहूंगा, ट्रेजरी बेंच के मेंबर ने कहा कि विशे­षकर जो फॉरेन टूरिस्ट्स एराइवल्स या हमारी जो फॉरेन एक्सचेंज की कमाई है, उसमें आप देख सकते हैं कि जो आप कह रहे थे कि हमें 7.10 मिलियन टूरिस्ट्स इस बार बढ़ गए हैं, लेकिन इसमें देखते हैं कि इसमें 3.5 प्रतिशत या चार प्रतिशत बढोत्तरी ही हुई है। अगर आप फॉरेन अर्निंग्स को देखें तो केवल एक प्रतिशत राशि ही बढ़ी है। इसलिए मैं कहूंगा कि इसमें आप अपनी पीठ थपथपा रहे हैं, सबसे पहले हमें अपनी मानसिकता को बदलना होगा। हम जो अतिथि देवो भव की बात बोलते हैं, वह सिर्फ दिल्ली में नहीं है, बल्कि मैंने देखा है कि यहां नॉर्दन साइड में, चाहे वह राजस्थान हो या पंजाब हो, वहां के लोग जिस तरीके से पर्यटकों को लुभाते हैं, वह काबिले-तारीफ है। ...(व्यवधान)

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Please conclude now.

SHRI NINONG ERING: Sir, I am just concluding.

          महोदय, अन्य जितने भी राज्य हैं, साउथ में गोवा है, केरल में है...(व्यवधान) इसी तरह से अरुणाचल प्रदेश में भी है। काजीरंगा है, कामाख्या है, परशुराम कुंड है, आईएनए मेमोरियल, इंफाल है, हॉर्नबिल फेस्टिवल, नागालैण्ड है, इन सभी को देखते हुए हम सोचते हैं कि आप पूर्वोत्तर राज्यों को अलग मत कीजिए। इनको आपको जोड़ना पड़ेगा।

          मैं चीन के वि­षय में एक चीज कहूंगा, यह बहुत महत्वपूर्ण है। चीन में मैं भी जाना चाहता हूं। वहां पर हमारी जनजाति - लोवास के लोग भी हैं। हम सूर्य भगवान को मानते हैं, वहां भी लोग सूर्य भगवान को मानते हैं। इसमें हम देखते हैं कि स्टेपल्ड वीज़ा हमारे ऊपर एक बहुत बड़ा धब्बा है। मैं जानता हूं, आपकी जानकारी के लिए बताना चाहता हूं, मैंने सुना है कि आपकी पार्टी के जो सांसद थे, वह शायद चीन गए थे। वह सिर्फ इसलिए चीन गए थे, वहां के अपने रिश्तेदारों को देखने गए थे। लेकिन वह एक अरुणाचली के रूप में नहीं गए थे, मैं कहता हूं कि अगर मैं चीन जाना चाहता हूं तो उसका प्रबन्ध आपको करना पड़ेगा।          प्रधानमंत्री हो, चाहे गृह मंत्री हो, चाहे एक्सटर्नल अफेयर्स मिनिस्टर हो, सभी उन लोगों से भेंटवार्ता करते हैं, लेकिन अभी तक इस इश्यू को नहीं लिया गया। मैं अगर वहां जाऊंगा, तो मैं छाती में गोली खाऊंगा, मैं अपने को एक प्राउड इंडियन बोलकर वहां जाऊंगा। I will never go taking the stapled visa.  I am a true citizen of India.  If I am an Indian, why am I denied going to China? इसलिए मेरी आपसे दरख्वास्त है, समय बहुत ही कम है, बहुत से वि­षय हैं, स्पेशियली पीएआईडीसी के बारे में मंत्री जी से बोला है, सेक्रेटरी साहब से भी बोला है।

          आपने मुझे बोलने का मौका दिया, इसके लिए आपको धन्यवाद देता हूं।

*श्री पी.पी.चौधरी (पाली) ः मैं सरकार का ध्यान पश्चिमी राजस्थान के जोधपुर शहर की ओर आकर्षित करते हुए बताना चाहता हॅं कि वर्तमान में पश्चिमी राजस्थान के लिए केवल जोधपुर हवाई अड्डा ही एकमात्र हवाई अड्डा है। जोधपुर हवाई अड्डा का इतिहास देखा जाए तो यह बहुत पुराना हवाई अड्डा है, कई सालों पहले यहां से विदेशों तक हवाई यात्रा की सुविधा उपलब्ध थी।

          जोधपुर सहित इस संभाग में आने वाले जिले पाली, नागौर, जैसलमेर, बाड़मेर, जालौर, सिरोही आदि में बसने वाले लोग ही नहीं बल्कि रेगिस्तान देखने आने वाले विदेशी सैलानी भी इसी हवाई अड्डे से यात्रा करते हैं। जोधपुर संभाग मुख्यालय के अधीन आने वाले समस्त जिले रेगिस्तानी क्षेत्र कहलाते हैं, जो पर्यटन की दृष्टि से बहुत महत्वपूर्ण स्थान रखते हैं। बाड़मेर में रिफाईनरी व औद्योगिक क्षेत्र में तेजी से हो रहे विकास के कारण हवाई यात्रा की मांग निरंतर बढ़ती जा रही है। हवाई अड्डे को अंतर्राष्ट्रीय स्तर का बनाया जाना प्रस्तावित है, जिसके लिए जमीन भी अधिग्रहित की जा चुकी है। वर्तमान में प्रतिदिन दिल्ली-जोधपुर-दिल्ली व मुम्बई-जोधपुर-मुम्बई के लिए आने व जाने के लिए दो-दो ही हवाई सेवाएं प्रारंभ हैं, जो दिन में 12.00 बजे से 03.00 बजे के मध्य ही है, वह भी अधिकांश 1 से 2 घंटे की देरी से चलती हैं। इसके अतिरिव्त, जोधपुर से कहीं और जाने के लिए कोई भी सीधी हवाई सेवा नहीं है, जबकि आई.आई.टी., एम्स, इंस्टीटय़ूट ऑफ फैशन टैक्नोलॉजी, नेशनल लॉ स्कूल जैसे कई महत्वपूर्ण संस्थान यहां हैं। इसके अतिरिव्त, यहां हैण्डीक्राफ्ट व गंवार गम का अंतर्राष्ट्रीय मार्केट होने के साथ-साथ सोलर व पवन ऊर्जा के केंद्र स्थापित हैं। इन जिलें से प्रवासी बड़ी तादाद में देश के कोने-कोने विशेषकर बैंगलोर, मुम्बई, आंध्रप्रदेश, तमिलनाडु, दिल्ली व अहमदाबाद आदि में बसे हैं और इनका आवागमन निरंतर रहता है। हवाई सुविधा त्वरित न होने की वजह से इन्हें भी काफी परेशानी का सामना करना पड़ता है।

          पिछले महीने में जोधपुर आने वाली सभी हवाई जहाजों की सीटें फुल थीं। सीटों की उपलब्धता नहीं होने के कारण पश्चिमी राजस्थान के पर्यटन, हैण्डीक्राफ्ट व गंवार गम उद्योगों को भारी नुकसान झेलना पड़ा है। इसके अतिरिव्त, मैं यह भी कहना चाहूंगा कि दिल्ली के लिए चलने वाली मात्र दो हवाई सेवाओं में आए दिन  समय पुनर्निर्धारण किया जाता है, जिसके चलते भी समस्त यात्रियों को असुविधा होती है। यदि हवाई सेवा प्रातः व सायं काल के लिए निर्धारित की जाए तो अनेकों लोगों के 1 दिन को बचाया जा सकता है।

          मैं माननीय मंत्री जी से अपने लोकसभा क्षेत्र के मेहंदी के लिए सुप्रसिद्ध शहर सोजत में बनी पुरानी पट्टी के विस्तार हेतु जल्दी से विकास कार्य में तेजी लाने का अनुरोध करता हॅं।

          मई माह के प्रारंभ वाले दिन 1 मई को वर्ल्ड लेबर डे के रूप में मनाया जाता है। मैं माननीय मंत्री जी से अनुरोध करूंगा कि डी.जी.सी.ए. के अधीन आने वाले विमानन, विशेषकर हैलीकॉप्टर विंग में संविदा पर काम करने वाले कर्मियों को रैगुलर किया जाए ताकि उन्हें अन्य कर्मचारियों की भांति अन्य सुविधाओं का लाभ मिल सके और जिम्मेदारियों की पालना भी बेहतर तरीके से सुनिश्चित की जा सके। इसके अतिरिव्त, डी.जी.सी.ए. को एविऐशन से अलग कर सैपरेट रेगुलेटर बनाया जाए, ताकि बेहतर सुविधाओं का विस्तार किया जा सके। इसकी मांग काफी समय से लंबित है।

          अंत में, माननीय मंत्री जी देशभर में विभिन्न कार्यों में प्रयोग में आने वाले ड्रोन को संचालित करने के लिए देशव्यापी पॉलिसी जल्द से जल्द लागू की जाए, ताकि इस तकनीक का लाभ देश को मिल सके।

          अतः मेरा सरकार से अनुरोध है कि दिल्ली व मुम्बई से जोधपुर हेतु प्रातः व सांयकालीन हवाई सेवा प्रारंभ करने तथा जोधपुर से चेन्नई व बैंगलोर जैसे बड़े महानगरों के लिए भी हवाई सेवा प्रारम्भ करने की कृपा करें।

                                 

श्री शरद त्रिपाठी (संत कबीर नगर):  सभापति महोदय, आपने इस महत्वपूर्ण विषय पर मुझे बोलने के लिए समय दिया, इसके लिए मैं आपको धन्यवाद देता हूं।

          निश्चित रूप से जब पर्यटन की बात आती है तो भारत के संस्कृति मंत्रालय ने वर्तमान सरकार में जो काम किया है, उसके लिए हम सभी लोगों को माननीय प्रधानमंत्री जी को बधाई देना चाहिए कि उन्होंने भारतीय संस्कृति के मूल आधार योग के बारे में 21 जून को पूरे विश्व को एकमत करके, लगभग 183 देशों में इसे मान्यता प्रदान कराई, उससे आज हमारा पर्यटन बढ़ा है। भारत की संस्कृति के बारे में, भारत के पर्यटन के बारे में विश्व में एक हलचल उन्होंने पैदा की कि देखें, भारत क्या है, जहां पर योग की संस्कृति है, जो सभी के स्वास्थ्य की बात करती है, जो सबके विकास की बात करती है। इसी के आधार पर आज देश में पर्यटकों की संख्या बढ़ी है।

19.00 hours माननीय सभापति : यदि माननीय सदस्यगण सहमत हो तो सदन का समय 7.30 बजे तक के लिए बढ़ा दिया जाए।

अनेक माननीय सदस्य : जी हां।

श्री शरद त्रिपाठी : सभाति महोदय, हमारी सरकार आने के पहले हमारे यहां पर्यटकों के आने की दर 2.7 प्रतिशत थी। आज यह जानकर खुशी हो रही है कि डॉ. महेश शर्मा और श्रद्धेय नरेन्द्र मोदी जी के प्रयास से हमारी पर्यटक ग्रोथ दर लगभग 7 प्रतिशत पर पहुंच गयी है जो भारत के पर्यटन स्थलों के बारे में अपने आप में ही बहुत कुछ कह रहा है।

          महोदय, मैं माननीय मंत्री जी को बताना चाहूंगा कि विश्व की जितनी भी संस्कृतियां मिली हैं, कार्बन डेटा प्रमाणन के आधार पर, उसमें हमारे संसदीय क्षेत्र संत कबीर नगर जनपद के लहुअरा-देवा नामक स्थान पर, जहां पूर्व में खुदाई की गयी थी, वहां कार्बन डेटा के आधार पर प्रमाण मिला है, वह विश्व में अभी तक जितने भी खुदाई में प्रमाण मिले हैं, उसमें 9200 से लेकर दस हजार वर्ष पुरानी ऐसी सभ्यता प्रमाणित हुई है जो तकनीकी कृ­िष की विश्व में अब तक की सबसे बड़ी सभ्यता के रूप में अपने स्थान बनाया है। मैं माननीय मंत्री जी को बधाई दूंगा कि हमारे अनुरोध पर कार्रवाई करते हुए वह बहुत जल्द ही वहां अंतर्रा­ष्ट्रीय शोध केन्द्र स्थापित करने जा रहे हैं। इसके लिए मैं अपने पूरे संसदीय क्षेत्र की तरफ से बधाई देना चाहूंगा।

          महोदय, हमारे संसदीय क्षेत्र के अंतर्गत ही अकबरपुर संसदीय क्षेत्र भी आता है, जहां गुरू गोविंद सिंह जी की  प्रसिद्ध स्थल है, जहां लाखों की संख्या में श्रद्धालु प्रति वर्ष आते हैं। मैं आपके माध्यम से इस बजट के अवसर पर माननीय मंत्री जी से यह मांग करूंगा कि उसको भी एक प्रर्यटन स्थल के रूप में विश्व के केन्द्र में स्थापित करने की दिशा में उसको सरकारी वेबसाइट पर डालने की कृपा करें।

          महोदय, मेरे संसदीय क्षेत्र में गोरखपुर में तहसील खजनी में चार हजार वर्ष पुरानी प्रतिमा सरया नामक गांव में मिली है। मैं माननीय मंत्री जी से चाहूंगा कि वहां खुदाई करा कर मुगल काल और उससे भी पहले की जो सभ्यताएं मिली हैं, उन पर रिसर्च कराने के लिए एक प्रयोगशाला की स्थापना कराएं। इससे वहां पर्यटन का विकास होगा।

          महोदय, मेरे संसदीय क्षेत्र में भगवान बुद्ध को समर्पित बुद्ध सर्किट पर सबसे बड़ा काम हमारी सरकार ने किया है। सारनाथ से होते हुए हमारे संसदीय क्षेत्र के कोपियां नामक स्थान पर, जो भगवान बुद्ध का ननिहाल था, हमारे ही संसदीय क्षेत्र में आमी नामक स्थान पर सिद्धार्थ के रूप में भगवान बुद्ध ने सबसे पहले अपने राजसी वस्त्र त्यागे थे और बोद्धित्व के लिए निकले थे। उसको कोपियां को भी अगर विकसित करेंगे और वहीं से सटी हुई जो बखिड़ा झील है, जो कि एशिया की दूसरे नंबर की 4500 एकड़ में फैली हुई झील है, वहां अगर पर्यटकों के ठहरने के लिए श्रीनगर में स्थित डल झील की तरह से वहां भी हाउस बोट की स्थापना करा कर पर्यटन केन्द्र के रूप में वहां विकास करेंगे तो जो भी पर्यटक बुद्ध सर्किट से आएंगे, वे कोपियां नामक स्थान पर दर्शन करने के बाद इस बखेड़ा झील पर रुकेंगे तो इससे स्थानीय लोगों को रोजगार भी मिलेगा और पर्यटन से हमारी आय में भी वृद्धि होगी।

माननीय सभापति : आप समाप्त कीजिए।

श्री शरद त्रिपाठी : महोदय, कपिलवस्तु को, जिसकी चर्चा पाल साहब ने भी की है, उसको भी सरकारी वेबसाइट पर डालकर विश्व के मानचित्र पर स्थापित करने की कृपा करें। धन्यवाद।

 

*SHRIMATI MEENAKASHI LEKHI (NEW DELHI):  The tourism industry of India is economically very significant to the Indian economy and is a major sector for job creation in the Indian economy. It is an economic sector in India that has the potential to grow at a high rate and ensure development of infrastructure at tourist destinations.  The travel and tourism sector in India is estimated to create 78 jobs per million rupees of investment compared to 45 jobs in the manufacturing sector for similar investment. Along with construction, it is one of the largest sectors of service industry in India. The Planning Commission has identified tourism as 2nd largest sector in the country in providing employment opportunities for low skilled and semi skilled workers, with a significant part of the jobs going to women.

The World Travel and Tourism Council calculated that tourism generated INR 6.4 trillion or 6.6% of the nation’s GDP in 2012. It also supported 39.5 million jobs, 7.7% of India’s total employment. The sector is predicted to grow at an average annual rate of 7.9% from 2013 to 2023.  It is also a significant and rapidly growing contributor to India’s Foreign Exchange Earnings, rising from INR 77,591 crores in 2011 to INR 94,487 crores in 2012, a growth of 21.8%, making tourism the third biggest foreign exchange earner for India, after gems and jewelry and ready-made garments. This also makes the Indian tourism industry the third fastest growing tourism industry in the world.

          According to provisional statistics 6.29 million foreign tourists arrived in India in 2011, an increase of 8.9% from 5.78 million in 2010. This ranks India 38th in the world in terms of foreign tourist arrivals. Domestic tourist visits to all states and Union Territories numbered 1,036.35 million in 2012, an increase of 16.5% from 2011. The most represented countries are the United States and the United Kingdom, accounting for 16% and 12.6% of foreign tourists respectively. In 2011 Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Delhi were the most popular states for foreign tourists while Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu were the most visited states for domestic tourists. Chennai, Delhi, Mumbai and Agra have been the four most visited cities of India by foreign tourists during the year 2011. The revenue generated from domestic tourists accounted for three-fourths of the total tourism revenue in India, showing a need and potential to increase foreign tourism receipts, especially in states like Uttar Pradesh.

With the 70% hike in the Union Budget that stood at Rs. 1590 Crore, the Government is trying to focus on infrastructure development and promotion of publicity initiatives. For 2016-17, the government allocated Rs. 900 crore for infrastructure development with over Rs. 700 crore for Swadesh Darshan scheme and Rs. 100 crore for PRASAD scheme.  Under Swadesh Darshan scheme, theme-based tourism circuits have been identified for infrastructure development across the country, while PRASAD’s (national mission on pilgrimage rejuvenation and spiritual augmentation drive) objective is to augment religious and spiritual tourism in the country. The government has also earmarked an amount of Rs. 160 crore for training and skill development in the tourism sector.

India’s rich history, culture and geographical diversity make it a very appealing destination to a wide array of international tourists. It has tremendous unharnessed potential in heritage and cultural tourism along with wildlife, rural, wellness and medical tourism and is a sector that can contribute significantly to India’s growth, job creation potential and foreign exchange earnings.

 

श्री राजेश रंजन (मधेपुरा) : सभापति जी, बिहार के इतिहास के बिना भारत के इतिहास की कल्पना नहीं की जा सकती है। बिहार को आप अध्यात्म और साधना पद्धति के रूप में लें, ऋषि-मुनि की तपोभूमि के रूप में लें, ज्ञान की तपोभूमि के रूप में लें, संघ­ाऩ की तपोभूमि के रूप में लें या व­ाऩ 1942 के नायक के रूप में लें। श्री विवेकानंद, श्री चाणक्य, श्री चंद्रगुप्त मौर्य, भगवान बुद्ध, गुरु गोबिंद सिंह जी, श्री आर्यभट्ट, श्री शेरशाह सूरी, महर्­िष विश्वामित्र, भगवान रामचन्द्र-सीता जी, श्री महात्मा गांधी तथा नालंदा और विक्रम विश्वविद्यालय, दुनिया के इतिहास में सुप्रसिद्ध तीन विश्वविद्यालयों में से दो भारत में थे और उसमें भी भारत में से दो बिहार को गौरवांवित करते हैं। चारों तरफ अध्यात्म का संगम, मानवतावाद और समाजवाद की छटा बिहार में है।

          आप वैशाली की धऱती का समाजवाद या राजा अशोक की कल्पना करे, महाभारत काल के राजा जरासंध की बात करें, मगध के इतिहास की आर्थिक समृद्धि की बात करें तो मगध के इतिहास को भुलाया नहीं जा सकता है। मगध अपने आपमें इस विश्व के आर्थिक संघ­र्ष की एक मजबूत नींव है। मगध सिर्फ भगवान बुद्ध के लिए नहीं, मगध का इतिहास सिर्फ राजा अशोक के लिए नहीं, मगध के इतिहास की आर्थिक क्रांति के जनक के रूप में भी इस दुनिया में पहचान बनी।

          हम आदरणीय मंत्री महोदय से चाहेंगे कि निश्चित रूप से हिंदुस्तान के चार खंभों में हमारे मित्र ने जो नार्थ-ईस्ट की कल्पना की, नार्थ-ईस्ट के बारे में जो आपने कहा, आजादी के पहले से लेकर आज तक यदि किसी ने सबसे ज्यादा ज्यादती सही और प्रकृति, आध्यात्म और सम्पदा रहने के बावजूद यदि किसी के साथ सौतेलेपन का व्यवहार हुआ तो बिहार से ज्यादा सौतेलेपन का व्यवहार नार्थ-ईस्ट के साथ हुआ। आप कश्मीर, हिमाचल की देवभूमि के बारे में कहते हैं, हम केरल में देवभूमि की बात करते हैं, लेकिन नार्थ-ईस्ट को हमने आज तक उपेक्षित रखा है। हम आग्रह करेंगे कि वर्तमान सरकार जिस तरह से बार-बार नार्थ-ईस्ट के बारे में कहती है कि हम नार्थ-ईस्ट को अपनी ताकत और अपने राजनीतिक जीवन की बहुत बड़ी उपलब्धि देना चाहते हैं तो नार्थ-ईस्ट को आप प्रथम रूप में लें, यह मेरा आपसे आग्रह है।

          दूसरा, मैं बिहार के बारे में कहना चाहूंगा कि आप चम्पारण चले जाइये, महात्मा गांधी जी ही नहीं बल्कि डा. राजेन्द्र प्रसाद को लीजिए। इस देश के सबसे बड़े साहित्यकार के रूप में रा­ट्र कवि दिनकर हो या विद्यापति कवि हो, हिन्दी के शेक्सपियर भिखारी ठाकुर हों या दुनिया के गणितज्ञ आर्यभट्ट हों या 1942 के नायक बाबू वीर कुंवर सिंह हों या सबसे बड़े महानायक और न्यायप्रिय शासक के रूप में यदि बात आई तो शेरशाह सूरी को लीजिए। यदि आप इन सबको लेंगे तो हम कहना चाहेंगे कि बिहार एक सचाई है, राजनीति यहां कोई नहीं करता, बिहार की  जो आर्थिक, सामाजिक, शैक्षणिक, सांस्कृतिक ताकत थी, वह समाप्त हो चुकी है। हम बिना हड्डी की रीढ़ हो चुके हैं। हमारे पास यदि जीने के सामाजिक, सांस्कृतिक, आध्यात्मिक जीवंतता के रास्ते हैं, यदि बिहार के छः करोड़ लोगों को हम ताकत देना चाहते हैं तो पर्यटन के अलावा हमारे पास अब कोई दूसरा रास्ता नहीं बचता है। हम आदरणीय मंत्री जी से आग्रह करेंगे कि यदि आप किसी भी विशष पैकेज की बात करते हो तो सबसे अधिक आप बिहार के सारे पर्यटन स्थलों पर अपने पैकेज को लगायें। जैसे हमारे यहां लौरिक है, बाबा विश्वनाथ हैं, मंडन मिश्र और चाणक्य की धरती है, मेरे यहां मत्स्यगंधा झील है। मैं आग्रह करूंगा कि मत्स्यगंधा झील को आप सहरसा में डैवलप करिये। हमारे यहां सिंघेश्वर स्थान है।

          महोदय, अब मैं इंडियन एयरलाइंस पर बोलना चाहता हूं, रामभरोसे हिन्दू होटल। भगवान के आसरे इंडियन एयरलाइंस पर चढ़ना तो पड़ता है, मजबूरी है। साढ़े छः बजे हम गये थे, आपने तीन बार फोन किया, साढ़े ग्यारह बजे रात में इंडियन एयरलाइंस की फ्लाइट उड़ी और यह एक दिन की घटना नहीं है। एक दिन तीन मंत्रियों को पटना के ऊपर से लौटाकर ले आए, फिर रात में एक बजे गया। इंडियन एरयरलाइंस, एयर इंडिया के बारे में मेरी स्प­ट राय है। मंत्री जी मैं आपसे आग्रह करूंगा कि बिहार के पर्यटन स्थल का यदि आप विकास करना चाहते है तो उसमें भागलपुर, पूर्णिया, चूनापुर एयरपोर्ट, दरभंगा, जिसके लिए हम प्रधान मंत्री जी से मिले...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति : राजेश जी, अब आप अपना भा­षण समाप्त करें।

श्री राजेश रंजन : मैं समाप्त कर रहा हूं। मोतिहारी, भितहरवा की जो स्थिति है, उस इलाके का डैवलपमैन्ट करने के लिए बिहार को कम से कम आधा दर्जन एयरपोर्ट दीजिए। मैंने आपसे मिलकर कहा था कि पूर्णिया का चूनापुर और दरभंगा बहुत ही महत्वपूर्ण इलाके हैं। वहां पहले प्लेन चलते थे, लेकिन आज नहीं चल रहे हैं। भागलपुर, जठोर, जमुआ, बौसी, बांका, कर्णकराज के साथ-साथ उस इलाके में सुलतानगंज को डैवलप करना बहुत जरूरी है, आप इस बात का ख्याल रखिये। क्योंकि उसे सबसे बड़ा शिव का धाम कहा जाता है। इसीलिए मैं आपसे आग्रह करूंगा कि पर्यटन स्थल के लिए मगध के इतिहास को आप अलग मत कीजिए, बल्कि उसके इतिहास का संगम बनाइये।  सिर्फ बुद्ध को ही नहीं, मगध की सारी संरचनाओं का ख्याल रखिए। इण्डियन एयरलाइंस के बारे में आपसे आग्रह है कि बिहार की तरक्की के लिए कम से कम आधा दर्जन नए एयरपोर्ट, जिसमें जूनापुर और दरभंगा भी शामिल हो, देने की व्यवस्था करें। एयर इण्डिया की व्यवस्था को ठीक करें जो दुनिया में सबसे खतरनाक व्यवस्था है, वहां न भोजन मिला है और न किसी तरह की अन्य सुविधा मिलती है। ...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति : अब राजेश रंजन जी की कोई बात रिकॉर्ड में नहीं जाएगी।

          श्री ई. टी. मोहम्मद बशीर।

SHRI E.T. MOHAMMAD BASHEER (PONNANI): Sir, thank you very much for giving me this opportunity. Today this House is discussing the Demands for Grants of two important Departments – Civil Aviation and Tourism.

          Keeping in mind the time constraint, I will make only two points with regard to Civil Aviation. First thing is with regard to exorbitant ticket fare levied by the aviation companies. I am from Kerala State. Lakhs of people from Kerala are working in Gulf countries. They often complain about the bitter experience they face during holidays and festival seasons. The festival season is the time for joy and celebration. But the aviation industry during this season has been accused of exploiting the poor people. I do not understand what type of criteria they are adopting for fare fixation. Nobody knows exactly what scientific yardsticks they are taking for fixing the ticket fare. The airfare during the festival season is exorbitant like anything. The people from Gulf countries want to come here for spending their holidays and enjoy the festivals. But it is a kind of a hellish experience. The Standing Committee has also recommended to the Government for fixing a top limit on the ticket fares. So, the Government should come forward and implement it.

          Recently our hon. Prime Minister has visited Gulf countries. He had the occasion to meet the Non-Resident Indians and had a very detailed discussion with them. They explained him all their bitter experiences. He was also convinced about it. He explained it in a meeting that something would be done in this regard. The hon. Civil Aviation Minister is very progressive and always cheerful. He listens to the issues properly. But he is also saying that as per the existing law he is not in a position to interfere in this. What I am saying is that if both the Prime Minister and the hon. Minister for Civil Aviation are convinced that law is the obstacle, why cannot they change the law and save the passengers? Therefore, I urge upon the Government to take immediate step in this regard.

          My second point is regarding the Calicut Airport. A group of MPs recently visited the hon. Minister for Civil Aviation, who gave us a sympathetic hearing. The Calicut airport has been closed since May 1st, 2015 for runway strengthening and carpeting. Since then, the wide body aircrafts such as 777 and 747 were stopped and routed to Kochi airport. Thus, the flights from Saudi Arab have been shifted to Kochi airport. The only flights which were taking off for Haj from Calicut airport were also shifted to Kochi.

          Sir, this airport was operating as a base for Air India Express. It is the 12th busiest airport in India and 12th busiest cargo handling airport. The present situation is that the carpeting and runway strengthening work is almost over. The hon. Minister has also visited the airport. It is because of his personal intervention that the work was progressing well and is almost in the completion stage. But my apprehension is that even after completion of work, the present system of flights will continue as it is. That is what the DGCA has now said. He said that wide body aircrafts will not be operating from there. Whatever may be the technical reason, I humbly appeal the hon. Minister to interfere in that and maintain the status quo. After completing the runway work, they must operate all types of aircrafts from Calicut Airport. I hope that the hon. Minister will look into the issue and will take effective steps in this regard. Thank you, Sir.    

         

*श्रीमती जयश्रीबेन पटेल (मेहसाणा) ः  मैं नागरिक उड्डयन एंड टूरिज्म मंत्रालय की अनुदानें की मांगें 2016-17 का अनुमोदन करती हॅं।

          नागरिक उड्डयन एंड टूरिज्म यह ऐसा मंत्रालय हैं जो भारत की विविधता में एकता को प्रकट करता है। वह दिल और दिमाग को भी जोड़ता है जिससे राष्ट्रीय एकता बढ़ती है। "नो योर नेशन- भारत को जानों" इस नीति से हमारे देश में सौहार्द, संवादिता, एकता, बंधुता व समरसता का माहौल बनेगा।

          पर्यटन आर्थिक विकास का एक प्रमुख संवाहक है और विदेशी मुद्रा अर्जन का एक महत्वपूर्ण स्रोत है एवं भारत समेत बहुत सारे देशों में विभिन्न प्रकारों के रोज़गारों के सृजन का एक अच्छा स्रोत भी है।

          वर्ष 2004 में विदेशी पर्यटकों के आगमन की दृष्टि से भारत की पर्यटन वृद्धि 10.2 प्रतिशत थी और 9.7 प्रतिशत विदेशी मुद्रा का अर्जन हुआ था। लेकिन चिंता कि बात यह है कि आई.टी. आर. की दृष्टि से भारत की हिस्सेदारी 1.6 प्रतिशत ही है। लेकिन मोदी सरकार ने स्वदेश दर्शन योजना के तहत तीर्थस्थलों के पुनरूद्धार एवं अध्यात्म विकास के लिए राष्ट्रीय मिशन (प्रसाद) योजना लागू की है, जिससे 13 तीर्थस्थलों का विकास और सौन्दर्यकरण तथा रामायण परिपथ और अध्यात्मिक परिपथ की पहचान की है। यह सराहनीय सोच व अच्छा कदम है।

          भारत सरकार ने चिकित्सा पर्यटन को बढ़ावा देने के लिए स्वास्थ्य देखभाल पोर्टल तथा एडवेंटेज हैल्थ केयर इंडिया को लागू किया ह,् जिसमें 143 प्रत्यायित चिकित्सा सुविधा कवर की गई है। इसमें 99 चिकित्सा, 28 आयुर्वेद तथा 16 स्वास्थ्य केंद्र शामिल हैं। वह भी एक वर्तमान सरकार की सराहनीय सोच है।

          माननीय मोदी जी ने पर्यटक स्थलों को स्वच्छ रखने में नागरिकों की सक्रिय भूमिका की जो चिंता जताई है, वह योग्य है, क्योंकि पर्यटन में रोज़गार की अपार संभावनाएं हैं। अवसंरचना का संवर्धन पर्यटन सैक्टर के विस्तार की कुंजी है।

          वर्तमान मोदी सरकार ने पर्यटन अवसंरचना का विकास करने के लिए और खासकर ग्रामीण पर्यटन अवसंरचना विकास के लिए पहचान की गई परियोजनाओं की पहचान के लिए 100 प्रतिशत वित्तीय सहायता दी है और 5 करोड़ रूपए तक की वित्तीय सहायता मंत्रालय देता है। सुदूर और पिछड़े क्षेत्रों के विकास में 110 करोड़ रूपए की धनराशि अलग रखी गई है।

          मेगा परिपथ के लिए तो केंद्र 50 करोड़ रूपए तक की वित्तीय सहायता प्रदान करता है। राष्ट्रीय महत्व के 85 गंतव्य-परिपत्रों की पहचान की है, जहां टूरिज्म को और क्रूज टूरिज्म को बढ़ावा देने के लिए जो सोचा है, वह एक ठोस नीति है।

          पर्यटन सैक्टर पर एक अंतर-मंत्रालय समन्वय समिति का गठन प्रधानमंत्री के प्रधान सचिव की अध्यक्षता में किया गया है। यह समिति नीति आयोग, रेलवे बोर्ड, गृह, रक्षा, विदेश, सड़क परिवहन और राजमार्ग, नागर विमानन, ग्रामीण विकास, पर्यावरण एवं वन, शहरी विकास, श्रम एवं रोज़गार, सांस्कृतिक मंत्रालय, स्कूली शिक्षा और साक्षरता विभागों को भी जोड़ती है।

          2016-17 के वित्तीय बजट में भारत के लिए एशिया में एक रख-रखाव, मरम्मत, ओवर हॉलिंग केंद्र के रूप में विकिसत होने का एक मार्ग प्रशस्त किया है,वह सराहनीय है।

          भारतीय विमानन के एम.आर.ओ. का लगभग 5000 करोड़ रूपए का व्यापार है, जिसका 90 प्रतिशत भारत से बाहर श्रीलंका, सिंगापुर, मलेशिया, संयुव्त अरब अमीरात में व्यय किया जाता है।

          मेरी मांग है कि हमारी प्रौद्योगिकी और कौशल के आधार को देखते हुए सरकार विदेशी एयरलाइंस से व्यापार प्राप्त करने के लिए भारत को एशिया में एक एम.आर.ओ. केंद्र के रूप में विकसित करने की अनिवार्यता है।

           बजट 2016-17 में देश में स्थित कुछ हवाई अड्डों तथा हवाई पट्टियों को विकसित करने के लिए केंद्र और राज्य सरकारों के बीच भागीदारी करने का प्रावधान किया गया है,वह एक सराहनीय मुद्दा है।

          दीनदयाल उपाध्याय ग्रामीण कौशल योजना के अधीन सेवाकर में छूट दी गई है, जिससे प्रशिक्षण प्रदाताओं को पूरे देश में प्रशिक्षण संस्थान स्थापित करने में मदद मिलेगी और इससे ग्रामीण क्षेत्रों में युवा कार्गो और ग्राउंड हैंडिलिंग के बारे में आकर्षित होंगे।

          बजट 2016 में नागर विमानन क्षेत्र के लिए प्रावधानों से आम आदमी को हवाई यात्रा करना आसान हो जाएगा। इसके लिए मैं मंत्री जी का आभार प्रकट करती हॅं।      ग्रीन फील्ड हवाई अड्डा नीति भी एक सराहनीय कदम है।

          गुजरात के दौलेरा सिटी के विकास के तहत दौलेरा अंतर्राष्ट्रीय हवाई अड्डा बनाने को सैद्धांतिक मंजूरी है, उसके लिए मैं मंत्री जी का आभार प्रकट करती हॅं।

          अंतर्राष्ट्रीय विमान पत्तनों का अच्छा विस्तारण किया गया है। इससे वोइंग 787 जैसे बड़े विमानों को भी लैंडिंग की सुविधा मिलने वाली है। यह एक अच्छा कदम है।

          एविएशन सैक्टर में 120 अरब डॉलर निवेश की जो तैयार हो चुकी है, वह भी एविएशन सैक्टर के भविष्य के लिए आशीर्वाद रूप में है। सरकार ने कोहरे में भी उड़ाने भरने वाले हवाई जहाजों की खरीदारी की है और एयर इंडिया के पायलटों को भी इसके तहत तैयार किया गया है। यह भी एक ठोस व सराहनीय कदम है।

          केंद्र सरकार ने नियमित उड़ान सेवाएं उपलब्ध कराने वाली एयर लाइंस व ऑपरेटरों के लिए विमान आयात करने के नियमों को आसान बनाया है। यह भी मंत्रालय के भविष्य के लिए उज्ज्वल सिद्ध होंगे।

          वर्तमान मोदी सरकार की देश में हवाई यातायात में अच्छी खासी 1 करोड़ से ज्यादा यात्रियों की बढ़ोत्तरी हुई है। यह स्पष्ट करता है कि यह मंत्रालय कितना सक्षम हो गया है।

          मेरी मांग इस प्रकार हैं-

1. पश्चिम इंडिया के राज्यों का कल्चर सेंटर जो जोधपुर में है, इसकी एक ब्रांच अहमदाबाद में स्थापित की जाए।

2. हमारे प्रधानमंत्री की जन्मस्थली वडनगर, जहां पुरातत्व विभाग द्वारा खुद काम करके बौद्ध संस्कृति के कुछ अवशेष मिले हैं, इसे बौद्ध सर्किट में समावेश किया जाए तथा जब मोदी साहब गुजरात के मुख्यमंत्री थे तब 3 दिन का तानारीरी महोत्सव प्रचलित किया गया था। उनकों केंद्र सरकार द्वारा उचित प्रचार-प्रसार की नीति बनाई जाए।

3. यू.पी.ए. सरकार द्वारा दांडी मार्च के तहत साबरमती-अहमदाबाद से दांडी तक का एक प्रवासन पथ घोषित किया था। इसकी पूर्णता के लिए उचित फंड आवंटित किया जाए।

4. देश के पूर्व प्रधानमंत्री स्वर्गीय मोरारजी देसाई की समाधि अभय घाट की वित्तीय व्यवस्था के लिए उचित धनराशि मुहैया कराई जाए।

5. अडालज वाव जो कलाकारी का एक अद्भुत नमूना है, को हैरीटेज में समाहित करने के लिए सोचा जाए।

6. अंबाजा,ळ जो देश के पवित्र श्रद्धा स्थल वाले मंदिरों में से एक है, वहां तारंगा, खेडब्रहम्मा और आबूरोड से रेल कनेक्टिविटी से जोड़ा जाए तो वहां की बहुत आदिवासी जनता को भी विकास की पटरी पर आने का मौका मिलेगा और टूरिज्म को बढ़ावा मिलेगा और रोज़गार के नए आयाम खुल जाएंगे।

7. वर्ड हैरीटेज में समाविष्ट रानकीवाव, पाटन में है, वहां ट्रेन की पटरी पास में पड़ती है, जिसके कारण जमीन में कंपन आते हैं और भविष्य में इससे खतरा पैदा हो सकता है। इसको बचाने के लिए केंद्र सरकार उचित व्यवस्था करे।

8. मोढेरा जिला मेहसाणा (गुजरात) में जो देश का दूसरा सूर्य मंदिर है, वहां पर्यटकों की सुविधा के और प्रावधान करने की जरूरत दिखाई देती है, इसके लिए सहायता दें।

9. क्राफ्ट और कल्चर को जोड़ने से टूरिज्म को और बढ़ावा मिलता है, इस सोच के तहत सभी पर्यटन और धार्मिक स्थलों पर उन्हीं प्रदेश में विकसित हुआ क्राफ्ट का बाज़ार लगाने के लिए महिला एन.जी.ओ. को तथा महिला स्व-सहायता एन.जी.ओ. को जोड़कर रोज़गार में बढ़ोत्तरी करनी चाहिए।

          मेरे सुझाव इस प्रकार हैं-

1. राष्ट्रीय नायक डां अंबेडकर की 125वीं जयंती वर्तमान मोदी सरकार ने मनाने का फैसला किया, इसके तहत उनके जीवन के साथ जुड़ी पंचतीर्थ टूरिज्म-स्मारक को टूरिज्म में समाया जाए।

2. प्लेस ऑन व्हील तथा प्लेस ऑन महाराजा टूरिज्म की जो गाड़ी चलाई जा रही है, इसमें कुछ और रियायतें देकर लोगों को आकर्षित करने की नीति बनाई जाए।

3. देश में एक टूरिज्म यूनिवर्सिटी बनाई जानी चाहिए, जिससे उससे जुड़े हुए मैनपावर की सप्लाई हो सके।

4. पर्यटन स्थलों तथा स्मारकों का उचित रख-रखाव करने की ठोस सुरक्षा नीति बनाई जाए।

5. मंदिर और अन्य धर्मस्थानों-पर्यटन स्थानों में भगदड़ से, आगजनी से श्रद्धालुओं की जान की हानि, संपत्ति की हानि भारी मात्रा में होती है, इसके तहत उचित व्यवस्था का प्रबंधन किया जाए।

6. महिलाएं, जो देश की आधी आबादी है और संविधान में उसको समानता का दर्जा अभी मिला है, उनके लिए सभी धार्मिक स्थलों में प्रवेश की अनुमति दी जाए।

7. हवाई किरायों में मनमानी रोकने के तहत प्रधानमंत्री जी ने जो चिंता जताई थी, उसके तहत मंत्रालय को डिमांड और सप्लाई के आधार पर अधिकतम और न्यूनतम किरायों का बैंड तैयार करना चाहिए।

8. देशभर में विज़न एयरलाइंस भी उड़ना चाहती है, इसके बारे में वह पूरे देश में अपनी सर्विस दे सके, इसके लिए नेशनल लाईसेंस इश्यु करने की नीति बनाई जानी चाहिए।

9. मुआवजा बढ़ाने वाला बिल जो लोकसभा में पारित हो गया है। इसके तहत सामान की क्षति, चोरी, गुमशुदगी, विलंब की स्थिति में मुआवजा के जो नई दर लाए गए हैं, इसको क्रियान्वयन में लाया जाना चाहिए।

10. देश का विकास इंजन कहलाने वाला गुजरात इंटरिम एयर स्ट्रिप और उड्डयन के लिए केंद्र के पास जो मांगें लंबित हैं, उनको जल्दी मंजूरी दी जाए।

11. महिला टूरिस्ट गाईड, कैब-टैक्सी ड्राईवर, सुरक्षा कर्मियों की संख्या स्किल डेवलपमेंट के तहत बढ़ाई जानी चाहिए, जिससे ज्यादा महिलाओं को रोज़गार मिलेगा और विदेशी महिला टूरिस्टों का विश्वास भी बढ़ेगा।

12. टैक्सी और कैब टैक्सी में देशी और विदेशी पर्यटकों की जान-माल की सुरक्षा के तहत जी.पी.एस. सिस्टम लाना चाहिए।

13. कृषि, पशुपालन, इंडस्ट्रियल, डेयरी, मेडिकल, प्रीचुअल, एजुकेशन, ग्रीन ईको टूरिज्म, वाटर स्पोर्ट्स, हैरीटेज टूरिज्म को बढ़ावा देने की ठोस नीति बनाई जाए। उदाहरण के तौर पर किसान ट्रेन चलाई जाए।

14. समुद्री सीमा, डेजर्टों में तथा पर्वतों में एडवेंचर्स,साहसिक टूरिज्म को बढ़ावा देने की नीति बनाई जानी चाहिए और युवा जगत को प्रोत्साहित करना चाहिए।

15. सीनियर सिटीजन तीर्थ योजना, जैसे गुजरात में बनी है, इसके तहत केंद्र सरकार को कोई नीति लानी चाहिए।

16. गुजरात में टूरिज्म नीति को एक इंडस्ट्री का दर्जा दिया गया है और उनको प्रोत्साहित करने के लिए 452 करोड़ रूपएो का 2016-17 के बजट में प्रावधान भी किया है। इस तरह केंद्र सरकार को भी इसको इंडस्ट्री का दर्जा देने के लिए सोचना चाहिए।

17. गुजरात की तरह बड़े शहरों में सिटी दर्शन टूर का प्रावधान भी केंद्र सरकार को करना चाहिए।

18. गुजरात में इंटीग्रेटेड डेस्टीनेशन डेवलपमेंट के अंतर्गत टूरिज्म के विकास के तहत महत्वपूर्ण प्रवास स्थानों में इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर में जो बड़ी वित्तीय व्यवस्था की है, इस नीति को अपनाना चाहिए।

19. गुजरात ने पी.पी.पी. मॉडल पर ईको टूरिज्म साईट पर रहने के लिए जो व्यवस्था की है, इसी प्रकार के मॉडल को अपनाना चाहिए।

20. नागरिक उड्डयन के तहत गुजरात में अंतर्राज्जीय तथा अंदरूनी राज्य में विमानी सेवाओं को आकर्षक बनाने के लिए जो प्रोत्साहन नीति बनाई है, इसको पूरे देश में लागू करना चाहिए।

21. गुजरात में एयर स्ट्रीप, ऐयरो स्पोर्टस हब की स्थापना तथा एयरोस्पेस विषयों पर एक्सेलेंस ट्रेनिंग सेंटर के निर्माण की जो नीति बनाई है, वह पूरे देश में लागू करने के लिए केंद्र सरकार संवाद करें।

श्री देवेन्द्र सिंह भोले (अकबरपुर): महोदय, मैं आपका आभार व्यक्त करता हूँ कि आपने मुझे पर्यटन और नागरिक विमान मंत्रालय की अनुदान माँगों पर चर्चा में भाग लेने का अवसर दिया।

      महोदय, अतिथि देवो भव की परम्परा में जीने वाले भारतवर्ष के लिए पर्यटन का क्या महत्व है, यह किसी से छिपा नहीं है। इस देश की समृद्ध, सांस्कृतिक, ऐतिहासिक और पौराणिक विरासत युगों-युगों से देश दुनिया के तमाम पर्यटकों को आकर्­िषत करती रही है। यहाँ की सामाजिक विविधता के चटक रंग दुनियाँ भर के सैलानियों के बीच आक­ाऩण और कौतूहल  का वि­ाय रही है। भारत का जिस तरह का विकसित बाजार होता है, यहाँ की विरासत में आयुर्वेद और योग जैसे मानव स्वास्थ्य से जुड़ी जो विधाएं हैं, उन्होंने भारत के पर्यटन विकास के नए पृ­ष्ठ खोल दिए हैं और अब उन पर विकास की स्वर्णिम इबारत लिखी जानी है।

          महोदय, भारत को विश्व गुरू बनाने की जिस अवधारणा के साथ माननीय प्रधान मंत्री जी और उनके लोकप्रिय मंत्री माननीय शर्मा जी और उनकी लोकप्रिय सरकार आगे बढ़ रही है। उसे हासिल करने का बहुत बड़ा और यूँ कहूँ कि सबसे बड़ा औजार पर्यटन विकास ही बनने वाला है। उसके जरिये ही हम अपनी उन सांस्कृतिक विशिष्­ठताओं को ज्यादा सुगमता और गति के साथ दुनिया में फैला पाएंगे, जिनके बूते भारत गुरूत्व का दर्जा हासिल करने का हौंसला रखता है।

          महोदय, जिस आम बजट की चर्चा हम कर रहे हैं, उसमें सरकार का पूरा जोर ग्रामीण विकास और ग्रामीण युवाओं की बेरोजगारी, बेकारी को दूर करने पर है। अकबरपुर लोक सभा, कानपुर नगर और कानपुर देहात का सांसद होने के नाते मैं आपके माध्यम से माननीय मंत्री जी का ध्यान अपने संसदीय क्षेत्र की पर्यटन सम्भावनाओं और उनकी मौजूदा दशा की ओर आकृ­ष्ट करना चाहता हूँ।

          महोदय, मेरा विनम्र निवेदन है कि रा­ष्ट्रीय स्तर पर पर्यटन विकास की तमाम योजनाओं और कोशिशों के बीच अगर जिलों-जिलों में बिखरी सांस्कृतिक, ऐतिहासिक और पौराणिक विरासतों को संजोकर छोटे-छोटे पर्यटन पैकेज विकसित किए जाएंगे तो यह क्षेत्रीय और ग्रामीण विकास के साथ स्थानीय रोजगार की तमाम सम्भावनाओं की कड़ी हो सकती है, जिससे न केवल बेराजगारों का भवि­ष्य सुधरेगा, समाज की स्थिति सुदृढ़ होगी, बल्कि प्रधान मंत्री के सपनों के अनुरूप भारत का भाग्य भी बदलेगा।

          महोदय, मैं अपने संसदीय क्षेत्र की चर्चा करूँ तो क्रान्ति भूमि बिठूर की ऐतिहासिकता से कौन अपरिचित होगा। ब्रम्हावर्त के नाम से मशहूर इस नगरी की पौराणिक मान्यता भी विश्व प्रसिद्ध है। इतना ही नहीं गंगा के तट के किनारे बसे होने के कारण गंगा तीर्थ के रूप में सालाना मेलों और जलसों के जरिए यह नगर लाखों-लाख श्रद्धालुओं को अपनी ओर आकर्­िषत करता है।

          इसके अलावा भीतरगांव, अमौर, कुढ़नी और घाटमपुर के कु­मांडा देवी के प्राचीन मन्दिरों के साथ महाकवि भू­षण की जन्मस्थली टिकवापुर भी यहीं स्थित है।

          इसके अलावा पनकी के प्राचीन हनुमान मन्दिर, मोती झील के तुलसी उपवन और गंगा तट पर स्थित एक अन्य तीर्थ डय़ोढ़ी घाट आदि कई स्थानों का पौराणिक, ऐतिहासिक, धार्मिक, सांस्कृतिक और साहित्यिक महत्व है। दूर-दूर तक इनकी ख्याति होने के कारण इन स्थानों पर कई प्रकार के धार्मिक, सांस्कृतिक अनु­ष्ठानों का आयोजन भी होता रहता है, किन्तु समुचित देखभाल न होने के कारण इन जीर्ण-शीर्ण प्राचीन धरोहरों की अवस्था क्षीण होती जा रही है।

माननीय सभापति : भोले सिंह जी, अब आप अपनी बात समाप्त कीजिए।

श्री देवेन्द्र सिंह भोले : महोदय, मैं आपके माध्यम से माननीय मंत्री जी से आग्रह करूँगा कि इन महत्वपूर्ण प्राचीन धरोहरों को पर्यटन स्थल घो­िषत कर विकसित करने की योजना बनाएं और इन सभी स्थलों पर सर्वे कराकर पर्यटक स्थल के रूप में इनके विकास से हमारे अति पिछड़े संसदीय क्षेत्र के साथ-साथ कानपुर जैसी प्रमुख पौराणिक, ऐतिहासिक और औद्योगिक नगरी की गरिमा में भी चार चाँद लग सकेंगे।

          महोदय, इसके अलावा मैं नागरिक उड्डयन मंत्रालय के बारे में यह कहना चाहता हूँ कि कानुपर उत्तर प्रदेश का मानचेस्टर है। कानुपर औद्योगिक नगरी होने के साथ में पूरे देश और दुनिया का सम्बन्ध कानपुर से होता है और विगत यूपीए की सरकार ने, जो वहाँ की नागरिक विमानन सुविधा थी, उसे बन्द कर दिया था।

माननीय सभापति : अब आप अपनी बात समाप्त कीजिए और बैठिए।

श्री देवेन्द्र सिंह भोले: आज भी वहाँ तमाम इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर है, कुछ इंफ्रास्ट्रक्चर की कमी है। कानपुर आने-जाने वाले यात्रियों को पूरे देश की औद्योगिक नगरी होने के बाद भी वहाँ से वंचित रहना पड़ता है।

श्री कौशलेन्द्र कुमार (नालंदा) : सभापति जी, आपने मुझे नागर विमानन मंत्रालय और पर्यटन मंत्रालय की अनुदानों की मांगों पर बोलने का मौका दिया है, बहुत बहुत धन्यवाद। आप जानते हैं कि आज देश में एयरलाइन्स काफी नाज़ुक दौर से गुज़र रही हैं। विशे­ाकर एयर इंडिया पिछले काफी समय से बहुत बड़े घाटे का बोझ उठा रही है। सरकार आम जनता की गाढ़ी कमाई के पैसे से सहयोग देकर एयर इंडिया को चला रही है। मैं माननीय मंत्री जी से एयर इंडिया की स्थिति पर ध्यान देने की बात कहना चाहता हूँ। एयर इंडिया का घाटा 40 हजार करोड़ रुपये का हो गया है। 51367 करोड़ रुपये का कर्ज़ है, 19500 करोड़ रुपये ब्याज में देने पड़ रहे हैं। प्रश्न यह उठता है कि एयर इंडिया कब तक अपने पैरों पर खड़ा होगा।

          मैं माननीय मंत्री जी से अनुरोध करूँगा कि एयर इंडिया के सुधार के लिए आप सारे कार्यक्रम जो उठाने जा रहे हैं, निश्चित रूप से हम इनको सपोर्ट करते हैं। मैं बिहार से आता हूँ। बिहार के बारे में काफी चर्चा हुई है। बिहार में भी दो एयरपोर्ट हैं, पटना और गया। पटना के लिए भी एयर इंडिया जितनी चलनी चाहिए, उतनी नहीं चल पा रही है और गया के लिए भी मात्र एक अप और एक डाउन है। मेरा माननीय मंत्री जी से अनुरोध है कि इसकी सेवा को और बढ़ाने की ज़रूरत है, एयर इंडिया को और वहाँ पर ज्यादा से ज्यादा फ्लाई देने की ज़रूरत है।

          माननीय मंत्री जी से मैं एक और अनुरोध करूँगा कि मैं नालंदा संसदीय क्षेत्र से आता हूँ। वहां नालंदा अंतर्रा­ष्ट्रीय विश्वविद्यालय है और अभी भी चालू है। उसमें एक रिपोर्ट आई थी और अंतर्ष्रा­ट्रीय एयरपोर्ट भी नालंदा में प्रस्तावित है। मैं आपसे अऩुरोध करूंगा कि नालंदा में अंतर्रा­ष्ट्रीय एयरपोर्ट को शीघ्र बनवाने का प्रयास किया जाए।

          सभापति जी, मैं माननीय पर्यटन मंत्री जी से भी अपने संसदीय क्षेत्र के बारे कुछ कहना चाहूँगा कि लगातार बिहार की चर्चा हुई है। मैं इतना ज़रूर कहूँगा कि नालंदा के बारे में, चाहे राजगीर हो, कुंडलपुर हो, ओंगारीधाम हो, देवकी भूमि हो, इन तमाम जगहों को जोड़कर, माननीय मंत्री जी नालंदा भी गए थे, लेकिन हमें सूचना नहीं थी और न सूचना देने का उन्होंने प्रयास किया। मैं माननीय मंत्री जी से कहूँगा कि नालंदा काफी पुरानी जगहों में से है। वहाँ पर्यटन की काफी क्षमता है। बुद्ध और जैन धर्म के काफी लोग वहाँ आते हैं। मैं आपसे निवेदन करूँगा कि आप वहाँ के बारे में एक अध्ययन करवाकर राजगीर, जो बौद्ध सर्किट से जुटा है, उसमें  और स्थान जोड़ने की ज़रूरत है। एक तरफ से बोध गया को आपने विकास के लिए काफी पैसा दिया है, लेकिन राजगीर को आपने छोड़ दिया है। बगल में जैन धर्म के लिए कुंडलपुर और पावापुरी को भी छोड़ा है। मैं आपसे अनुरोध करूँगा कि एक बार नालंदा चलें तो जो भी ऐतिहासिक जगह है, वहाँ पर काफी संभावनाएँ हैं। अंतर्रा­ट्रीय विश्वविद्यालय के बाद  तिलहाड़ा एक जगह है एकंगरसराय प्रखंड में, वहाँ भी माननीय मुख्य मंत्री नीतीश कुमार जी ने खुदाई कराई है। वहाँ पर उससे भी पुराना विश्वविद्यालय खुदाई में निकला है, ऐसा लोग बता रहे हैं। मैं आपसे निवेदन करूँगा कि नालंदा का बढ़िया से सर्वे कराएँ और आप अगर सर्वे करेंगे तो विकास की काफी संभावना है और पर्यटन की भी काफी संभावना है। बहुत बहुत धन्यवाद।

                                                                                     

श्री चन्द्र प्रकाश जोशी (चित्तौड़गढ़) : सभापति जी, मैं आपका धन्यवाद करता हूँ कि आपने इस महत्वपूर्ण वि­षय पर मुझे बोलने का अवसर दिया। आज राजस्थान और देश भर में पर्यटन की कई संभावनाएँ हैं। आज हम लोग देखें कि देश और दुनिया में चाहे पानी की दाष्­िट से हो या जंगल की दृ­िष्ट से हो, चाहे ऐतिहासिक स्थानों की दृ­िष्ट से हो या फुलवारी की दृ­िष्ट से हो, चाहे योगा की दृ­िष्ट से हो, या आयुर्वेद की दृ­िष्ट से हो, या चाहे संस्कृति की दृ­िष्ट से हो, इस देश में ऐसी अपार संभावनाएँ हैं कि जिसमें इस देश के पर्यटन को बढ़ावा मिल सकता है। मैं माननीय प्रधान मंत्री जी और मंत्री महोदय को धन्यवाद अर्पित करना चाहता हूँ कि इन्होंने कई प्रकार के सर्किट बनाकर इस देश में पर्यटन को बढ़ावा देने का काम किया है।

          मैं अपने राज्य राजस्थान की बात करता हूँ जहाँ पु­ष्कर जी में ब्रह्मा जी का मंदिर है, जहाँ ब्रह्मा जी ने सृ­िष्ट की रचना की। चाहे गलता जी हो या जहाँ तुलसीदास जी ने आराधना की हो, चाहे मेवाड़ का प्रसिद्ध उदयपुर हो या चित्तौड़गढ़ हो, हमारा जयपुर का आमेर किला हो या सवाई माधोपुर और झालावाड़ हो या माउंट आबू हो, इऩ ऐतिहासिक स्थानों पर देश और विदेश के पर्यटक आज भी राजस्थान की धरती पर पर्यटन की दृ­िष्ट से आते हैं। मैं माननीय मंत्री महोदय से मांग करना चाहता हूँ कि उदयपुर, चित्तौड़गढ़ और उज्जैन एक टूरिस्ट सर्किट बनना चाहिए। आपने बहुत प्रकार के सर्किंट बनाये, आपने स्वदेशी सर्किट बनाया, लेकिन मेरी एक मांग है, जहां मेवाड़ में आज भी वियतनाम या देश-विदेश के कई प्रधानमंत्री और सेलेब्रिटी आते हैं तो कहते हैं कि हमें मेवाड़ जाना है, महाराणा प्रताप की धरती पर जाना है। जहां अकबर के पूरे देश में विजय रथ को अगर किसी ने रोकने का काम किया तो मेवाड़ के महाराणा महाराणा प्रताप ने इसकी शुरूआत की और आज भी मेवाड़ की धरती स्वाधीनता के लिए अगर कोई पीछे को जाना चाहता है तो महाराणा प्रताप के कारण जाना जाता है।

          मैं आपसे आग्रह करता हूं कि चाहे हल्दी घाटी का युद्ध हो, चाहे चित्तौड़ का विश्व प्रसिद्ध किला हो, चाहे मीराबाई, जिन्हें पूरे विश्व में धर्म के एक आइकोन की दृ­िष्ट से देखा जाता है, जिन्होंने पूरा जीवन चित्तौड़ के किले पर भगवान कृष्­ण की भक्ति में निकाल दिया हो। मैं आपके माध्यम से मांग करना चाहता हूं कि उदयपुर, चित्तौड़ और उज्जैन, बीच में मन्दसौर भी आता है, नीमच भी आता है, उज्जैन का महाकाल भी आता है, ममलेश्वर और कई प्रसिद्ध मंदिर आते हैं, अहिल्याबाई का घाट भी आता है। मन्दसौर में हूणों को जिन्होंने मात दी, हूणों से डरकर जिस चीन ने दीवार बनाई थी, उन हूणों को मात देने वाले मन्दसौर के साजा यशोवर्धन का वह विजय स्तम्भ का भी जिक्र आता है। हमारे यहां कई सैंक्चुरी आती हैं, चाहे सीतामाता की हो या बस्सी की हो, चाहे गांधी डैम हो, ऐसे कई स्थान हैं, जिनका एक बहुत अच्छा सर्किट बनाकर एक टूरिज्म सर्किट के नाम से वहां बनाया जा सकता है।

          मैं माननीय मंत्री महोदय से एक मांग और करता हूं, जिस प्रकार से इंडिया गेट पर आपने एक ज्योति जला रखी है। वैसे ही चित्तौड़ के किले पर विदेशी आक्रान्ताओं के कारण वहां की रानी पद्मिनी हो या तीन बार वहां जौहर हुआ है, मैं आपके माध्यम से मांग करता हूं कि उस जौहर स्थल पर भी एक जौहर ज्योति का निर्माण, चूंकि वह ए.एस.आई. के अंडर में है, जहां वर्ल्ड हैरीटेज में वह किला शामिल है, लेकिन उसमें कई पेचीदगियां हैं। मैं आपके माध्यम से मांग करना चाहता हूं कि जब देश-विदेश से कोई पर्यटक वहां आता है तो उस स्थान के बारे में जाने, वहां की गौरव गाथाओं को वह जाने, इसलिए वहां एक जौहर ज्योति का निर्माण हो और महाराणा प्रताप का स्टेच्यू आज पार्लियामेंट में लगा है। पूरे देश और विदेश में लगे हैं, लेकिन चित्तौड़ का किला आज भी इससे अछूता है। तो माननीय मंत्री महोदय, मैं आपसे मांग करना चाहता हूं कि उस चित्तौड़गढ़ के किले पर, जो बहुत बड़ा विश्व प्रसिद्ध किला है, दुनिया का सैकिण्ड लार्जेस्ट मोनूमेंट है, वहां उस किले पर पूरी दुनिया में महाराणा प्रताप की स्टेच्यू लगी हो, लेकिन अगर चित्तौड़ का किला अगर इससे अछूता रहता है तो यह हमारे लिए भी अच्छी बात नहीं है।

          मैं माननीय मंत्री महोदय से मांग करता हूं।...(व्यवधान) एक मिनट में मैं खत्म कर रहा हूं। वहां महाराणा प्रताप का एक स्टेच्यू लगाया जाये। मैं अन्तिम बात कहना चाहता हूं कि मीराबाई की एक बहुत बड़ी लाइब्रेरी, पूरी दुनिया में सबसे बड़ी लाइब्रेरी वहां है तो वहां एक बहुत बड़ा शोध संग्रहालय चित्तौड़ में बन सकता है, इसके लिए मैं माननीय मंत्री महोदय से मांग करता हूं।

          मैं अन्तिम बात सिविल एविएशन के बारे में करके उदयपुर एयरपोर्ट डबोक का मेरे संसदीय क्षेत्र में आता है। हमारे जैसलमेर और कोटा का एयरपोर्ट भी प्रतीक्षा में है।...(व्यवधान) मैं एक मिनट में अपनी बात समाप्त कर रहा हूं।

माननीय सभापति : मंत्री जी से मेरा आग्रह है, वे बहुत मांग कर रहे हैं, ध्यान उधर दे लीजिए।

श्री चन्द्रप्रकाश जोशीः जैसलमेर और कोटा का एयरपोर्ट प्रतीक्षा में है और हमीरगढ़ में जो एयर स्ट्रिप है, उसको भी हवाई अड्डा बनाया जाये और उदयपुर में, जो आज पूरी दुनिया में वैडिंग डैस्टीनेशन के नाम से जाना जाता है, पूरी दुनिया के लोग वहां आते हैं, वहां साउथ के लिए और देश-दुनिया के लिए कहीं पर उड़ानें वहां से जायें, इसके लिए मैं माननीय मंत्री महोदय से मांग करता हूं। धन्यवाद।

                                                                                               

*SHRI NISHIKANT DUBEY (GODDA):  The tourism industry is growing very rapidly in scale and in competitiveness all over the world.  India has a tremendous potential for tourism development because of its unique natural and cultural heritage. In this context, tourism policy should be formulated with the aims to increase national productivity and income, to increase foreign currency earnings, create employment opportunities, improve regional imbalances and project the image of India more assertively in the international areas, through the development and diversification of the travel and tourism industries.

In this regard, the objectives should be:

1.           To develop tourism as an important sector of the national economy by developing linkages between tourism and other sectors.

2.           To diversify tourism down to rural areas so as to improve employment opportunities, foreign currency earning, growth of national income and regional imbalances.

3.           To improve the natural, cultural and human environment of the nation in order to develop and expand the tourism industry.

4.           To maintain a good image of the nation in the international community by providing quality service and a sense of security.

5.           To develop and promote India as an attractive tourist destination.

The policy stipulates that participation of the private sector will be sought to the maximum extent for development and diversification of tourism products. The involvement of Government will be primarily directed towards infrastructure development. Apart from this, HMG will maintain its role as a coordinator and motivator for the growth of the travel and tourism industries.

Participation of the Indian people will be sought in an integrated manner for carrying out environmental conservation programmes, which contribute to sustainable tourism development.  The existing tourism infrastructure and development and facilities of tourism will be upgraded. Priority will be given to developing new tourist destinations, particularly in the rural areas like Deoghar (Aang Pradesh).

Popular religious tourism sites will be improved and promoted in order to develop religious tourism. India will be developed as a Centre for adventure tourism. Tourist services and facilities will be encouraged to upgrade in quality. Special efforts will be made to make India a secure place for tourists. 

Due Attention will be paid to improving regional imbalances of eastern India while developing tourism. Competitive tourism promotion and marketing will be launched in originating markets to establish India as a major tourist destination. Linkages will be established between tourism and agro-based and cottage industries.  Emphasis will be placed on developing these related sectors simultaneously.

Local investment will be encouraged in service-oriented, travel and trekking agency businesses in which local investors have a proven capability. Foreign investment, including joint ventures, will be promoted in areas which transfer skills and technology or in capital-intensive industries like hotels and resorts. The National Civil Aviation Policy should be implemented as an integral part of the Tourism Policy.

Tourism investment should be diversified and channeled for creation and improvement of infrastructure in new destination areas.  The private sector should be motivated to make an efficient and effective use of available infrastructure in order to develop sightseeing packages of cultural and religious sites, high Himalayan ranges and places with outstanding natural beauty.

The private sector will be motivated to operate environment-friendly recreational, adventure activities based on water, land and air in various parts.  Services and facilities should be expanded in temples, monasteries and other religious sites to attract more domestic tourists on the one hand, while attempting to develop such sites as international religious centers on the other.

Wildlife tourism should be developed and promoted in various geographic areas, in recognition of the biodiversity that exists in the nation.  New trekking routes and climbing peaks should be opened, in a phased manner, with a view to spreading mountain tourism on a regional basis.

Coordination should be maintained with the neighboring countries to enhance cross-border tourism activities based on mutual benefit.  Innovative and promotional products as conference tourism, cultural and youth tourism, international sports competitions, etc. should be especially encouraged.  Rural tourism should be especially encouraged.  Rural communities will be motivated to launch various programmes that contribute to the growth and promotion of rural tourism.

National environmental guidelines for tourism will be formulated and subsequently adopted to minimize adverse environmental impacts from tourism.  Local environmental codes should be designed in conformity with prevailing international conventions and national guidelines pertaining to the environment.  Land with high tourism potential under the ownership of the Government will be leased out to private entrepreneurs for the development of environmentally friendly resorts.  The credentials and business plans of the private entrepreneurs will be considered before leasing out such land on a long-term basis.

 The private sector should be allowed to invest in infrastructural services and facilities for tourists. However, certain standards will be fixed for such infrastructural services and facilities.  Tourism entrepreneurs will be encouraged to adopt codes of conduct through their respective professional associations for the enhancement of quality in the services and facilities they offer.

Trekking areas will be classified into three categories as follows: 

A.    General Trekking Area. Areas with a network of good trails and which offer basic services and facilities to tourists will be categorized as general trekking areas.

B.    Guided Trekking Area. Areas already open for trekking but not meeting the minimum infrastructural requirements, such as trails, and basic services and facilities such as hotels and lodges, will be categorized as guided trekking areas. Only group trekkers handled by trekking agencies will be allowed to visit such areas in fixed annual quotas.

C.    Controlled Trekking Area. Areas in the high Himalayan region, which are out of Modern civilization and have very sensitive natural environments, and ancient indigenous cultures will be categorized as controlled trekking areas. Only group Trekkers handled by trekking agencies and accompanied by a government-deputed liaison officer will be permitted to visit such areas.

Part of tourist revenues generated out of economically underprivileged areas, which have been classified as remote areas, will be spent for the conservation, preservation and development of the area in question.

Special programmes will be launched to maintain the glory of Himalaya, the highest peak on earth.  Special emphasis will be placed on promotion of tourism from Asian markets.  Attempts will be directed at attracting tourists from the neighboring countries during the lean season when overseas tourists are few. 

A Tourism Study and Research Unit should be set up in the Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation to guide the course of tourism development in a timely and objective manner. 

Indian embassies and consulates abroad should be mobilized for the promotion of India’s tourism. Indian people abroad, or foreign citizens having involvement in tourism business or a keen interest in tourism, can be appointed as Public Relations (PR) Agents for tourism promotion. India will be promoted as a premier destination in international markets with direct flight connections. Joint promotion and publicity will be launched in other generating markets, which do not have direct flight connections with India.

Special attention will be paid to make India a secure destination.  A separate “Tourism Promotion Fund” should be set up for tourism promotion and special programmes will be launched through it. Follow-up, evaluation and review of this Tourism Policy will be carried out periodically.

Regular tourism training programmes will be conducted through the Hotel Management and Tourism Training Centre (HMTTC) to enhance the quality of services provided to tourists. The private sector will also be encouraged to conduct such programmes.  Use of local manpower will be encouraged in travel and tourism industries to the maximum extent.

The following institutional entities will be supported for tourism development:

(a)   Tourism Council: A high level Tourism Council should be constituted with a view to develop tourism as a backbone of the national economy and to maintain coordination and harmony among various agencies related to tourism. Solving problems facing the tourism sector, issuing policy guidelines to the executing agencies under it (Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation, Department of Tourism and Tourism Development Board) and reviewing pertinent plans and programmes will be some of the main activities of the council.

(b)  Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation (MOTCA). The Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation will formulate policy in accordance with the policy guidelines set by the Tourism Council. Based on such policies, plans and programmes will be formulated and implemented through the Tourism Development Board. Implementation of plans and programs will be followed up and reviewed by MOTCA.  Structural adjustment and coordination of tourism development programmes and acting as secretariat to the Tourism council will be other responsibilities of the Ministry.

(c)   The Department of Tourism shall formulate and implement tourism development programmes in accordance with the set policy guidelines and directives of the Tourism Council and Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation. The Department of Tourism will be abolished to avoid duplicity of work when the Tourism Development Board is capable of assuming its full responsibilities. When responsibilities like formulation and implementation of tourism programmes, tourism promotion, infrastructure development, extension of tourist service and facilities, human resource development and environment conservation are handed over to the Board, registration regulation and facilitation of the travel and tourism industries will be carried out by MOTCA.

(d)  The functions listed under (c) will be carried out by the Tourism Development Board in accordance with the policy guidelines and directives of the Tourism Council and Ministry of Tourism and Civil Aviation.  The proposed Board will be an autonomous and flexible body capable of carrying out all the tourist-related activities headed by local Lok Sabha MP.  The Board will have a separate seal and fund. Funds made available by HMG in the form of grants, contributions by the private sector, international donor agencies and other sources will be deposited in the fund.  The Board will have full authority to spend money out of the fund. The area of jurisdiction, duties and responsibilities of the Board including other operational details should be as specified.

Based on the analysis of the initiatives taken by the three ministries and the interventions of the states, following are some of the key recommendations for the tourism sector.

One of the basic initiatives is to have a dedicated state tourism policy which outlines how the states would like to project themselves.  The policy also includes focus areas of the government, specific interventions proposed/planned, new/existing incentives to developers/private players and vision for development of tourism in the state, among others. A robust and comprehensive tourism policy is the first step towards achieving the desired tourist inflow for any state.

The State Governments are focusing on inter as well as intra state connectivity. Improvement of regional connectivity is the need of the hour. The suggested steps could be speedy launch of the proposed high speed passenger trains, constructing new and improving existing rural roads, identifying air strips to be converted into small commercial airports, converting existing domestic airports into international airports and setting up heliports in select key states which experience more foreign tourist inflow. Inland waterways can be another area to explore for improving the connectivity between cities and states.

One of the key requirements for the foreign tourists is the easy availability of the visa offices/centres at all the key destinations experiencing high foreign turnout.  Apart from ensuring basic facilities such as drinking water and sanitation, efforts should be channelized towards provision of parking and way side facilities.

There is an increased focus in many states on the MICE (Meetings, Incentives, Conferences and Exhibitions) sector as an engine of growth for the business tourism sector. The availability of a number of options across all the cities connected through international airports is in line with the demand.  However, a separate strategy needs to be devised to take steps towards leveraging the MICE sector in cities which are currently not internationally connected since they face stiff competition from the other cities.  Apart from connectivity, the availability of world-class infrastructure is another area of intervention such as setting up international level conventions centers.  Incentives and subsidies to attract investors may be proposed as part of the MICE strategy.

India has some of the best luxury hotels in the world, however there are some unexplored destinations which need to upgrade their service levels as well as number of hotels. Introduction of theme based resorts and hotels are options to be explored further in such destinations.  Some popular themes could be golf resorts, wild life resorts, green/clean technology resorts, etc. The states need to collaborate and explore opportunities to attract tourists by offering comprehensive services and solutions.  This could be done by partnering with other states or countries and offering custom made services and experiences to tourists.  To create an enabling environment, the states need to explore possibilities by initiating dialogue with key states/countries and creating roadmaps for successful implementation.

 

SHRI PREM DAS RAI (SIKKIM): Sir, I rise to support the Demands for Grants 2016-17 for the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Civil Aviation. Insofar as the Ministry of Tourism is concerned, we are well aware that the growth of tourism is in double digit. We have already surpassed six million visitors. It also constitutes 12.4 per cent of the GDP. Yet the amount of money or the Budget given to this particular Ministry, the Ministry of Tourism is very much below par. I think and we know that in the tourism sector for every rupee or dollar spent, the number of jobs that are created is huge. 

HON. CHAIRPERSON: Rai sahib, just a minute. अभी चार माननीय सदस्य हैं, जो इस विषय के ऊपर बोलना चाहते हैं, जब तक वे चार माननीय सदस्य अपनी बात समाप्त करें, तब तक सदन का समय बढ़ाया जाता है।

कई माननीय सदस्य: ठीक है।  

श्री प्रेम दास राई :सर, फिर मेरा समय भी पांच मिनट से बढ़ाकर छः मिनट कर दीजिए।

So, the number of jobs that are created in this sector is perhaps one of the highest for every dollar or every rupee spent. Therefore, it is imperative that the budget for this particular Ministry is increased. Even though we know that there is a 70.6 per cent increase over the revised estimate, the revised estimate itself is of a lower figure. So, I do hope that the Government would take cognizance of this.

          In the case of the North-East, the funds which are marked for all the States do lapse and are not utilised. This is as per the Standing Committee report. I think there is a need that the Centre and the States must work together so that we can actually pull through. A lot of our colleagues from the North-East have also spoken. All the North-Eastern States have a huge potential. They not only have a potential in the States itself but cross-border with Myanmar, with Bangladesh or with China. There is a competitive as well as a cooperative federalism which I think can be made a model of. I would request that the Government of the day, especially the hon. Minister for Tourism, take this forward and make it a model in the way in which we can have competitive as well as cooperative federalism.

          I would also like to say that Sikkim has, under the hon. Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, created some excellent attractions which the other States can emulate. For instance, we have our Chardham, we have our Buddha Park which can be connected to the Buddhist Circuit, and we also have Guru Rinpoche’s statue in Samdrupse. It is something which Sikkim has done as a novel exercise, as an exercise which we can call highly innovative. In fact, Chardham was awarded by the Ministry of Tourism as an innovative attraction in our country. So, this is something which I think the rest of the country, and I hear a lot of our colleagues speak about how they can go ahead. I think if they come and see some of the attractions that are there in our State which are now attracting huge number of tourists, they can also do that.

          I would like to thank our hon. Prime Minister and our hon. Chief Minister for opening up the Kailash Manasarovar route via Nathu La. I think this is something for which all of us must be thankful because it is a simpler route. Many elderly people can go through this route and it will also help build our tourism infrastructure for which we are grateful.

          I would just like to make a mention on the side of the Civil Aviation that our greenfiled airport in Pakyong is still to take off. I would request the hon. Minister that since it is under the aegis of his Ministry this particular airport must be taken up with utmost speed so that high quality tourists can also reach our State. In this connection, the intra-State connectivity of the North-Eastern region should be improved. My friend from Arunachal, Shri Ninong Ering, has already spoken of it.

          Finally, Air India is a national carrier and it must be given more impetus. The people who serve the Air India must be given far more facilities. This is something which we need to do.       GVK and JMR are the PPP projects.  But we find that the private is more; we find that they are not doing the job as they are assigned to do.  They are not keeping up some of the things that they are supposed to do, some of the targets that they are supposed to keep for the public.  This is something which has been flagged by various people.  We need to see that there is a regulatory mechanism. Thank you.

*DR. KULMANI SAMAL (JAGATSINGHPUR):  The Government has proposed reduction in the budgetary allocation of the Civil Aviation Ministry by 17 per cent to Rs. 4,417 crore from Rs. 4,360.95 crore the previous year. Of that amount, state run airlines have been proposed to get a grant of Rs.2,065 crore-significantly lower than their demand of Rs.4,300 crore.  Thus Civil Aviation is a challenging sector but that requires careful nurturing.

There are 160 non-functional airports and these are to be developed at a cost of Rs. 50-100 crore each. Similarly, 10 of 25 defunct airstrips also have to be developed in partnership with State Government as has been stated by Shri Jaitley, Hon'ble Finance Minister in the Lok Sabha.

In addition, across India, more than half of the 150-odd domestic-only airports operated by the Airport Authority of India (AAI) have not seen a scheduled flight this year, official data show, though some are older airports designed primarily for chartered planes. The Paradip, in my Jagatsingpur constituency has been declared as the place to start air operations soon. But no work to this effect has been started as on date.

India’s main hubs, meanwhile, are bursting at the seams, slowing airlines’ ability to expand in a vast country where they should be supporting economic growth.

I also demand flights by the Air India should have executive class in them, as it is a long standing demand of the people of the State.

          I would like to urge the Ministry to enhance its absorption capacity and I demand all these issues be prioritized through the Demands for Grants 2016-2017 of the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

          The Tourism Ministry has proposed to get 70 per cent hike in the Union budget with an allocation of Rs. 1,590 crore to focus on infrastructure development and promotion and publicity initiatives. The Budget Estimate 2016-17, presented by the Finance Minister has earmarked Rs. 1,500 crore under plan and Rs. 90 crore under non-plan heads.

          I demand Paradip, Bhitar Kanika in Odisha has great potential of tourism development, that needs immediate intervention of the Central Government. But for this too, the Ministry of Tourism has also need to enhance its absorption capacity.

                 

श्री दद्दन मिश्रा (श्रावस्ती) : सभापति महोदय, मैं सबसे पहले बधाई देना चाहूंगा उड्डयन मंत्री आदरणीय गणपति राजू जी और यशस्वी पर्यटन, संस्कृति एवं नागरिक उड्डयन मंत्री डॉ. महेश शर्मा जी का जो पहली बार एक बहुत ही दूरगामी, प्रगतिशील और पर्यटनोन्मुखी बजट लेकर आए हैं। 

          महोदय, हमारे देश में पर्यटन की अपार संभावनाएं हैं लेकिन बावजूद इसके हमको शायद वह स्थान दुनिया में जो पर्यटन के क्षेत्र में हमारे देश को मिलना चाहिए, वह नहीं मिल पाया। शायद हमारी नीतियों में कुछ कमी थी। हमारे यशस्वी प्रधानमंत्री आदरणीय नरेन्द्र मोदी जी ने लाल किले की प्राचीर से अपने पहले उद्बोधन में जो उन्होंने देशवासियों को स्वच्छता का आह्वान किया था, स्वच्छता को हम सिर्फ साफ-सफाई और स्वास्थ्य की दृ­िष्ट  ही नहीं देख सकते हैं बल्कि स्वच्छता के बहु आयाम हैं। उसको पर्यटन के क्षेत्र में बढ़ावा देने की दृ­िष्ट से देखने का काम हमारे दूरदर्शी प्रधानमंत्री जी ने किया है। हमारे देश में पर्यटन की अपार संभावनायें होते हुए भी विदेशी पर्यटक, खास तौर से पश्चिमी देशों के पर्यटक हमारे देश में आने से कन्नी काटते हैं, क्योंकि पश्चिमी दुनिया के देशों में हमारे देश की अब तक छवि बनाई गई थी कि वहां पर गंदगी है। गंदगी की वजह से तरह-तरह की बीमारियां उत्पन्न होती हैं, जिसकी वजह से पर्यटक हमारे देश में आने से कतराते थे। लेकिन हमारे  प्रधानमंत्री जी वह पारस पत्थर हैं, जिस चीज को भी वे हाथ लगा देते हैं, वह सोना हो जाता है। जिस झाड़ू को हम लोग बहुत तुच्छ दृ­िष्ट से देखते थे, उनके एक आह्वान पर आज बड़े-बड़े, हम जैसे सफेदपोश नेता झाड़ू को हाथ में पकड़कर गर्व महसूस करते हैं और देश में जो साफ-सफाई का वातावरण बना है, उससे निश्चित रूप से पर्यटन की हमारे देश में जो अपार संभावनाएं हैं, उसमें कहीं न कहीं इजाफा हुआ है।

          हमारे यशस्वी पर्यटन मंत्री आदरणीय महेश शर्मा जी के प्रयासों से, जो हमारे देश का स्थान 65वें पायदान पर था, इतने अल्प समय में आपके प्रयासों से वह 13 पायदान घटकर 52वें स्थान पर आ गया है। उसके लिए माननीय मंत्री जी का मैं बहुत-बहुत आभार व्यक्त करता हूं।

          सभापति महोदय, घरेलू विमान सेवा में उड़ानों की संख्या बढ़ने से यात्री संख्या में पिछले व­ाऩ लगभग 20 प्रतिशत की प्रशंसनीय बढ़ोत्तरी हुई है। हमारे लिए गर्व की बात है कि लगातार घाटे से जूझ रही सरकारी विमान सेवा एयर इंडिया ने दस साल बाद दिसंबर, 2015 से मासिक परिचालन लाभ अर्जित करना शुरू कर दिया है। विगत व­र्ष 2014-15 के 5,895 करोड़ रुपए का वार्­िषक घाटा इस वर्ष 2015-16 में आधे से भी कम होकर 2,600 करोड़ रुपए रह गया है। 

          महोदय, मैं जिस संसदीय क्षेत्र से आता हूं, श्रावस्ती भगवान बुद्ध की पावन तपोस्थली रही है और पूरी दुनिया के बौद्ध अनुयायी वहां पर्यटन के लिए, तीर्थाटन के लिए आते रहते हैं। वहां पर मूलभूत सुविधाओं का अभाव था। मैं आभार व्यक्त करना चाहता हूं अपने यशस्वी आदरणीय पर्यटन मंत्री जी का जिन्होंने देश के इतिहास में पहली बार क्योंकि आज तक किसी पर्यटन मंत्री ने वहां तक जाने के लिए जहमत नहीं की, अभी विगत 23 तारीख को श्रावस्ती पर्यटन स्थली का दौरा करके उसके आमूलचूल विकास का जो आपने वादा किया है, उसके लिए मैं धन्यवाद देता हूं। उसको बुद्धिस्ट सर्किट में घो­िषत करके श्रावस्ती, कपिलवस्तु, कुशीनगर को बुद्ध सर्किट से जोड़कर उसके सम्पूर्ण विकास का जो आपने 270 करोड़ का बजट एलॉट किया है, उसके लिए मैं माननीय मंत्री जी का बहुत-बहुत आभार व्यक्त करता हूं। साथ ही साथ उन्होंने श्रावस्ती में माता सीता की तपोस्थली सीताद्वार को पर्यटन के रूप में विकसित करने का वादा किया है, उसके लिए आपका बहुत-बहुत आभार व्यक्त करता हूं। साथ ही साथ मांग करता हूं कि देवीपाटन हमारे क्षेत्र में 51 शक्तिपीठों में से एक है, जो मां पाटेश्वरी का स्थान है, उसको ‘प्रसाद योजना’ के अंतर्गत सम्मिलित करके उसको भी एक पैकेज प्रदान किया जाए। साथ ही साथ हमारे पड़ोसी जनपद बहराइच में 11वीं सदी के विदेशी आक्रांता सैयद सालार मसूद गाजी को पराक्रमी दलित शासक राजा सुहेलदेव ने परास्त करने का काम किया था। उनकी प्रतिमा का अनावरण हमारे रा­ष्ट्रीय अध्यक्ष अमित शाह जी ने किया है।  उसको भी इस योजना में लेकर विकास किया जाए। साथ ही साथ संपूर्ण श्रावस्ती की विकास की मांग करते हुए...(व्यवधान)

          सभापति महोदय, श्रावस्ती में हवाई पट्टी बनी हुई है, जो सफेद हाथी साबित हो रही है, उसका विस्तार कर, उसे पर्यटन से जोड़ कर, हवाई कनेक्टिविटी दी जाए, इस तरह से श्रावस्ती का संपूर्ण विकास सुनिश्चित होगा। पर्यटकों को सुविधा मिलेगी, हमारा देश इस मामले में 65 पायदन से बढ़ कर 52वें पायदान पर पहुंचा है, वह दिन दूर नहीं जब हमारा भारत पर्यटन की दृ­िट से नम्बर एक पायदान पर होगा। इसी आशा और विश्वास के साथ, मैं इसका समर्थन करते हुए अपनी बात को विराम देना चाहूंगा।

श्री राम टहल चौधरी (राँची) : सभापति महोदय, आपने मुझे सदन में बोलने का मौका दिया है, उसके लिए मैं आभार प्रकट करता हूं। मैं नागरिक उड्डयन मंत्रालय के अनुदान-मांगों का समर्थन करने के लिए खड़ा हुआ हूं। दिसम्बर, 1912 में भारत में हवाई जहाज सेवा की शुरुआत की गई थी और पहली हवाई सेवा दिल्ली से करांची प्रारंभ की गई और 114 सालों में भारत के नागरिक उड्डयन सेक्टर में कई बदलाव आए। आज भारत का नागरिक उड्डयन सेक्टर तेजी के साथ बढ़ रहा है, इसके लिए हमारे प्रधानमंत्री जी से लेकर, अपने शर्मा जी और राजू जी जो मंत्री हैं, वे धन्यवाद के पात्र हैं। इसे भवि­य में और विकसित होने की अपार संभावनायें हैं। देश में बढ़ती विकास दर ने नागरिक उड्डयन सेक्टर में काफी परिवर्तन किया है। इससे भारत सरकार अधिक राजस्व कमा सकती है, इसमें रोजगार की काफी संभावनायें हैं। इसकी बुनियादी संरचना में नागरिक उड्डयन सेक्टर का बड़ा महत्वपूर्ण योगदान है। देश में नागरिक उड्डयन सेक्टर के सफल संचालन के लिए भारत विमान पतनन प्राधिकरण लिमिटेड की अह्म भूमिका है, जो देश के एयरपोर्ट का संचालन और प्रचालन करता है। देश में 137 एयरपोर्ट्स हैं, जिनमें से 13 अंतर्रा­ट्रीय एयरपोर्ट्स, 80 घरेलू एयरपोर्ट्स, 28 सिविल एयरपोर्ट्स एवं 07 कस्टम एयरपोर्ट्स कार्यरत हैं। इसके अलावा देश में कई और छोटे-मोटे एयरपोर्ट्स हैं, जिन्हें उपयोग करने की आवश्यकता है। देश में नागरिक उड्डयन सेक्टर के यात्रियों के यातायात में काफी वृद्धि हो रही है, इसके लिए सुरक्षा की व्यवस्था आवश्यकता के अनुसार की जानी चाहिए। इसके लिए आने वाले समय में बुनियादी संरचना का विस्तार करना होगा। व­ाऩ 2013-14 और व­ाऩ 2014-15 में नागरिक उड्डयन सेक्टर में 12.5 प्रतिशत की वृद्धि हुई है। व­ाऩ 2014-15 एवं व­ाऩ 2015-16 में यह वृद्धि बढ़ कर 17.5 हो गई है। इस तरह से पता चलता है कि देश का नागरिक उड्डयन सेक्टर किस तरह प्रगति कर रहा है। नागर विमानन क्षेत्र में अधिक धन लगाया जाए, जिससे रोजगार और देश का राजस्व भी बढ़े।

          देश में उदारवादी नीति के कारण प्राइवेट एयर यात्रियों की संख्या में काफी वृद्धि हुई है, परन्तु खेद की बात है कि एयर इंडिया कि हिस्सेदारी समय के साथ कम रही है और प्राइवेट सेक्टर में कार्यरत हवाई कंपनियां तेजी के साथ बढ़ रही हैं। व­र्ष 2015 के अनुसार इंडिगो 27 प्रतिशत हिस्सेदारी की भूमिका निभा रही है और दूसरे पोजिशन पर कभी जेट आती है।...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति:  कृपया आप अपनी बात समाप्त करें।

…( व्यवधान)

श्री राम टहल चौधरी :  सभापति महोदय, झारखंड के माननीय सदस्यों को वैसे समय कभी नहीं मिला है। कृपया दो मिनट का समय दीजिए हम अपनी बात दो मिनट में समाप्त करेंगे।

          कभी दूसरी पोजिशन पर स्पाइस जेट आती है। जिन पर सरकार का किराया संबंधी कोई नियंत्रण नहीं है। निजी विमान कंपनियों द्वारा त्योहारों के समय एवं छुट्टी के समय अनाप-शनाप किराया बढ़ा दिया जाता है और भारतीय नागरिकों का शो­षण किया जा रहा है। सरकार इस मामले में चुप न रहे, निजी कंपनियां के अनैतिक व्यवहारों एवं अन्य उल्लंघनों में संलिप्त होने पर उनके लिए दंड का प्रावधान है। परन्तु प्राइवेट कंपनियों पर समय पर कार्रवाई नहीं की जाती है, सरकार को कानून बना कर निजी विमान कंपनियों पर रोक लगानी चाहिए।...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति :  माननीय चौधरी जी कृपया आप अपनी बात समाप्त करें।

  …( व्यवधान)

श्री राम टहल चौधरी :  मैं अपनी बात दो मिनट मे समाप्त करता हूं। हम लोग कभी नहीं बोले हैं। मैं झारखंड से पहली बार बोल रहा हूं।...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति :  वह अलग बात है। आप एक मिनट में अपना वकतव्य समाप्त करें।

…( व्यवधान)

श्री राम टहल चौधरी:कंपनियों पर समय पर कार्रवाई नहीं की जाती है। सरकार ने कानून बना कर निजी कंपनियों को स्वतंत्रता दी है और इसे नियम बना दिया है।

          हालांकि वैबसाइटों पर तीन महीने, दो महीने, एक महीने पूर्व न्यूनतम किराए पर टिकट बुक कराने का प्रावधान है। परन्तु लोग बताते हैं कि कई वैबसाइटों पर पूर्व दिनों पर भी न्यूनतम किराए नहीं आते। डीजीएस ने एक ट्रैफिक मौनीटरिंग यूनिट का गठन किया है जिसके आधार पर वे केवल चुने गए हवाई मार्गों के किरायों पर नजर रखते हैं। इस संबंध में नियमों का उल्लंघन किए जाने पर निजी कम्पनियों पर अब तक कोई भी कार्यवाही नहीं हो पाई है। देश में 475 के करीब हवाई अड्डे और हवाई पट्टियां हैं जिनमें से 147 हवाई अड्डों का ही प्रयोग हो रहा है। देश में छोटे-छोटे शहर तेजी से विकास कर रहे हैं और इन शहरों में धीरे-धीरे हवाई सेवा की मांग बढ़ रही है।...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति  :  श्री राजकुमार सैनी।

…( व्यवधान)

श्री राम टहल चौधरी : मैं एक मिनट में अपनी बात समाप्त कर रहा हूं।...(व्यवधान) देश में हवाई यातायात की मांग को पूरा करने के लिए...(व्यवधान)

 

माननीय सभापति : आपकी बात हो गई है। मैंने श्री सैनी को बुला लिया है। अब आप आसन ग्रहण कीजिए।

…( व्यवधान)

श्री राम टहल चौधरी (राँची) : हवाई अड्डों और हवाई पट्टियों का ...(व्यवधान)

श्री राजकुमार सैनी (कुरुक्षेत्र ) :सभापति महोदय, आपने टूरिज़्म की डिमांड्स फॉर ग्रांट्स पर मुझे बोलने का समय दिया...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति : वे बोलने लग गए हैं। कृपया सहयोग कीजिए।

…( व्यवधान)

श्री राजकुमार सैनी :महोदय, आज हमारी सरकार लोगों के सिर पर छत और हाथ को काम देना चाहती है। ...(व्यवधान)

माननीय सभापति : सैनी जी, आपका समय शुरू हो गया है।

…( व्यवधान)

 

श्री राजकुमार सैनी  : उसका लक्ष्य तभी पूरा होगा जब हम टूरिज़्म को बढ़ावा देंगे। कुरुक्षेत्र, धर्मक्षेत्र मेरे लोक सभा में पड़ने वाले इस धार्मिक व ऐतिहासिक क्षेत्र को हम इसलिए जानते हैं कि यहां श्रीकृष्­ण ने गीता का उपदेश दिया और न्याय और अन्याय के बीच युद्ध हुआ। इस धरती को देखने के लिए लाखों लोग हर वर्ष यहां आते हैं। यदि हम पूरे भारतवर्ष के ऐतिहासिक स्थानों का भ्रमण करेंगे तो सबसे ज्यादा कुरुक्षेत्र की इस जगह पर जितने भी जिज्ञासु लोग आते हैं, वे या तो इतिहास की खोज में आते हैं, तपस्या करने के लिए आते हैं, पितृ गति के लिए आते हैं या किसी प्रकार के मनोभाव से सरस्वती साधना के लिए कपिल मुनि की घरती के भ्रमण के लिए आते हैं। जो लोग यहां आते हैं, उन्हें सिर्फ एक कमी खलती है कि यहां हवाई मार्ग नहीं है जबकि कई राज्यों में 5-5, 6-6 हवाई अड्डे हैं। लेकिन हरियाणा में अभी तक एक भी हवाई अड्डा नहीं है। यहां एयरपोर्ट न होने की वजह से विदेशों से जो पर्यटक आते हैं, दिल्ली उतरने के पश्चात् उनका रुख या आगरा की तरफ हो जाता है और यदि वे चंडीगढ़ या अमृतसर उतरते हैं तो हिमाचल की वादियों में जाने की इच्छा रखते हैं। हम इस धरती को देश-विदेश में गीता जयन्ती के तौर पर विकसित करना चाहते हैं। इस धरती का नाम पूरे विश्व में गौरवशाली इतिहास के साथ जाना जाता है।      टूरिज़्म को बढ़ावा देने और गिरते हुए रुपये के मूल्यांकन को स्थिर करने का हमारे पास सिर्फ एक बहुत बड़ा उपाय है कि हम कुरुक्षेत्र की इस धर्मनगरी को टूरिज़्म पर ज्यादा ध्यान देकर जहां लोगों के हाथों को काम देंगे वहां हरियाणा प्रांत के लोगों के लिए रोजगार और आक­र्षण का केन्द्र बनाते हुए अपने देश के पर्यटकों के साथ विदेशी पर्यटकों को भी आकर्­िषत कर सकते हैं। लेकिन हमारे इस क्षेत्र में अभी तक किसी प्रकार की ऐसी फैसिलिटी नहीं है। यहां न अच्छे हवाई अड्डे हैं, न रेलवे स्टेशन हैं। हवाई मार्ग न होने की वजह से हम पर्यटकों को लुभा नहीं पाए। इसके साथ-साथ हमारे बहुत सारे लोग ऐसे भी हैं, माननीय प्रधान मंत्री जी हमारे यहां एक रैली में बोलकर गए थे कि चाहे कहीं हो न हो लेकिन हम कुरुक्षेत्र  को विकसित करने का पूरा प्रयास करेंगे।  कृ­ष्णा सर्किट के माध्यम से हमने कुरूक्षेत्र को धार्मिक स्थल के रूप में लिया है जिसे पर्यटन के रूप में विकसित किया जा सकता है लेकिन उस पर कोई कार्रवाई  शुरू नहीं हुई है। मेरी प्रार्थना है कि यहां पर एयरपोर्ट के आपकी सिफारिश हो जाए, सरकार इस ओर विशे­ष ध्यान रखे क्योंकि इतनी ही दूरी पर चंडीगढ़ हवाई अड्डा भी है और इतनी ही दूर दिल्ली हवाई अड्डा है। आज हवाई अड्डों के ऊपर रश बढ़ रहा है। मंत्री महोदय से पुरजोर मांग है कि यहां एयरपोर्ट बनाया जाए।

 

श्री राकेश सिंह (जबलपुर) : सभापति महोदय, मुझे सेंकड स्पीकर के रूप में बोलना था और अब अंतिम स्पीकर के रूप में बोल रहा हूं इसलिए मुझे उम्मीद है कि चेयर का संरक्षण प्राप्त होगा। सबसे पहले मैं माननीय मंत्री गजपति राजू जी और माननीय महेश शर्मा जी को बधाई देना चाहता हूं कि उन्होंने देश में एक सकारात्मक पहल करके टूरिज्म और सिविल एविएशन क्षेत्रों में देश की जनता के बीच आशा की किरण जगाई है। मैं विशे­ष रूप से हमारे मित्र माननीय महेश शर्मा जी को बधाई देना चाहता हूं जिनके कुशल नेतृत्व में प्रधानमंत्री जी द्वारा पर्यटन को लेकर जो स्वपन देखा गया है उसे पूरा करने में कोई कसर बाकी नहीं छोड़ रहे हैं। यह शायद पहली बार है कि पर्यटन को मनोरंजन से हटकर एक देश के करोड़ों  युवा, गरीब कलाकर, देश की संस्कृति को बचाए रखने वाले आदिवासी भाई-बहन,  इन सभी के लिए एक रोजगार के माध्यम से विकसित करने का स्वपन देखा गया है, जिसे पूरा करने में माननीय मंत्री जी और उनकी टीम लगी हुई है।

          महोदय, हम सभी जानते हैं कि पर्यटन रोजगार के क्षेत्र में बहार ला सकता है। देश के अनेक छोटे-बड़े क्षेत्रों को विकसित कर सकता है। स्थानीय तौर पर एक समृद्ध अर्थव्यवस्था पैदा कर सकता है। वर्ल्ड ट्रैवल और टूरिज्म काऊंसिल की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार पर्यटन दुनिया भर में लगभग 28 करोड़ नौकरियां दे रहा है, वैश्विक जीडीपी में इसकी भागीदारी 9.8 औ है। दुनिया के हर 11 रोजगार में से 1 रोजगार पर्यटन देता है। विश्व यात्रा और पर्यटन परि­ाद की रिपोर्ट के अनुसार 2025 तक पर्यटन उद्योग से दुनिया में करीब 36 करोड़ रोजगार होने वाले हैं जो दुनिया की कुल नौकिरियों का लगभग 11औ होगा। 2025 तक पर्यटन उद्योग लगभग 11.4 ट्रिलियन अमेरिकन डॉलर का हो जाने वाला है। ये बड़े आंकड़ें हैं, ये आंकड़े हमें आकर्­िात कर रहे हैं। हमें देश के करोड़ों बेरोजगारों की चिंता है जिनके बारे में शायद पहले ठीक तरीके से विचार नहीं हुआ।

          माननीय प्रधानमंत्री जी चाहते हैं कि पर्यटन के माध्यम से अनेक लोगों को रोजगार मिले, उनके क्षेत्र की तस्वीर बदले, इसलिए सरकार ने इसको उद्योग के रूप में विकसित करने के लिए विचार किया है।

          यह आश्चर्य की बात है कि देश के कभी किसी प्रधानमंत्री ने पर्यटन स्थलों की साफ-सफाई के बारे में आग्रह नहीं किया, शायद यह वि­ाय छोटा लगता होगा। आज वही वि­षय एक बड़ा वि­षय है। देश के युवा पर्यटन स्थलों को साफ-सुथरा बनाने में अपनी ओर से महत्वपूर्ण योगदान दे रहे हैं। हम इस बात को अच्छी तरह से जानते हैं कि इस देश का गरीब, इस देश का किसान, इस देश का साधारण परिवार का व्यक्ति जब घर से बाहर निकलता है तो सबसे पहले वह धार्मिक पर्यटन के बारे में विचार करता है। सरकार ने उस ओर भी चिंता की है कि  ऐसे पर्यटक स्थल साफ-सुथरा रहें। सरकार ने स्वदेश दर्शन योजना प्रारंभ की है जिसके अंतर्गत 13 पर्यटन स्थलों को विकसित किया जा रहा है, इसके लिए 2016-17 में लगभग 706 करोड़ रुपये का आबंटन किया गया है, 49 नए प्रोजेक्ट के कन्सेपट आए हैं, 16 प्रोजेक्ट की प्रक्रिया अंग्रिम मंजूरी में है और 2015 से अब तक 1660 करोड़ रुपये के 20 प्रोजेक्ट देश के लगभग 18 राज्यों में हो रहा है, इसके लिए मैं मंत्री जी को बधाई देना चाहता हूं। 

          सभापति महोदय, प्रसाद योजना भी है, जिसके माध्यम से देश के तीर्थ और आध्यात्मिक केन्द्र के विकास की योजना बनाई गई है। इसमें भी 13 केन्द्रों की पहचान की गई है। माननीय मंत्री जी मेरे पास ऐसे बहुत आंकड़े हैं, लेकिन मेरी मजबूरी यह है कि मुझे डर लगता है कि कब चेयर की तरफ से मुझे अपना भा­षण समाप्त करने का कब इशारा हो जाए। इसलिए मैं उन सब आंकड़ों में नहीं जाना चाहता हूं।

          महोदय, इस दिशा में पहले शायद इसलिए विचार नहीं किया गया होगा, क्योंकि लोगों को लगता होगा कि अगर इस देश के धार्मिक पर्यटक स्थलों के बारे में विचार किया जाएगा, तो उससे वोट बैंक पर असर पड़ेगा। मैं समझता हूं कि आज आवश्यकता है कि इस विचार से हटकर इस क्षेत्र को विकसित करें, ताकि रोजगार के नए अवसर लोगों के सामने आएं।

          महोदय, ऐसा नहीं है कि देश में गंगा के घाट पहले नहीं थे, बुद्धिस्ट टूरिस्ट्स स्थल देश में नहीं थे, श्रावस्ती जैसे स्थान नहीं थे, देश में नर्मदा जी नहीं थीं या देश में गंगा जी नहीं थीं। ऐसे अनेक पर्यटन स्थल देश में पहले से भी थे, लेकिन दुर्भाग्य से इनके बारे में विचार नहीं हुआ। अब हमें इनके बारे में विचार करना पड़ेगा और केवल मात्र साफ-सफाई से ही कुछ होने वाला नहीं है। आज आवश्यकता इस बात की है कि देश और दुनिया के लोगों को हमें यह बताना पड़ेगा कि हमारी समृद्ध संस्कृति क्या है और दुनिया को हमारे प्राचीन ऐतिहासिक स्थानों के बारे में बताना होगा। इन सबके लिए, मैं माननीय मंत्री जी को बधाई देना चाहता हूं कि पूरे देश और दुनिया में यात्रा-मेलों का आयोजन हो रहा है, प्रदर्शनियां हो रही हैं रोड शोज हो रहे हैं, सेमीनार और वर्कशॉप्स हो रहे हैं, ताकि दुनिया के लोग इस देश के पर्यटन को ठीक तरह से जान सकें।

          सभापति जी, हमारे प्रधान मंत्री जी और पर्यटन मंत्री जी की सोच इससे और भी आगे है। हमारी सरकार चाहती है कि पर्यटन में प्रशिक्षण और कौशल विकास पर विशे­ष रूप से जोर दिया जाए, क्योंकि सरकार यह जानती है कि देश के युवा को आज ऐसा कौशल चाहिए, जिससे वह केवल अपनी जीविका नहीं, बल्कि और दूसरे लोगों को भी रोजगार के अवसर पैदा कर सके। इसलिए मैं माननीय मंत्री जी द्वारा प्रस्तुत अनुदान की मांगों का समर्थन करते हुए यह बताना चाहता हूं कि आज सदन को इस बात को भी समझने की आवश्यकता है कि विश्व पर्यटन संगठन की जो वर्ष 2016 की रिपोर्ट थी, उसके मुताबिक वर्ष 2015 में लगभग 1 अरब 20 करोड़ लोग पर्यटन पर निकले थे, लेकिन उसमें भारत की हिस्सेदारी मात्र 0.7 परसेंट थी। इसलिए कई बार दुख होता है कि क्या इससे पहले देश में ये सारी शुरूआत नहीं की जा सकती थी, क्यों नहीं आजादी के पहले हम अपने देश के तीर्थ स्थलों के बारे में विचार कर पाए, क्यों नहीं हम पर्यटन सर्किट्स की परिकल्पनाओं के बारे में विचार कर पाए, क्यों नहीं हम दुनिया के लोगों को ठीक तरीके नहीं बता पाए और वहां तक अपनी बात को क्यों नहीं पहुंचा पाए?  अब इस बारे में एक शुरूआत हो रही है और मुझे उम्मीद है कि माननीय प्रधान मंत्री जी के नेतृत्व में माननीय महेश शर्मा जी, पर्यटन मंत्रालय को जिस रूप में माननीय प्रधान मंत्री जी देखना चाहते हैं, उसे साकार करेंगे।

          महोदय, मैं माननीय मंत्री जी का ध्यान इस ओर भी आकृष्­ट करना चाहता हूं और इसके बाद, मैं थोड़े समय में सिविल एविएशन पर बात कहकर अपनी बात समाप्त कर दूंगा। जबलपुर जहां से मैं आता हूं, ...(व्यवधान)...

माननीय सभापति  : राकेश जी, मेरा आग्रह है कि अब आप अपनी बात समाप्त करें।

श्री राकेश सिंह :  माननीय सभापति महोदय, मैं ज्यादा समय नहीं लूंगा, सिविल एविएशन पर अपने क्षेत्र की बात रखकर विषय समाप्त कर दूंगा, वैसे उस पर भी मेरे पास बहुत आंकड़े हैं। मैंने बहुत जल्दी-जल्दी अपनी बात कही है।

          सभापति जी, मेरा संसदीय क्षेत्र जबलपुर है, जो ईस्टर्न एम.पी. का एक प्रमुख केन्द्र है। जबलपुर के चारों तरफ यदि देखा जाए, तो एक तरफ कान्हा नैशनल पार्क है, बांधवगढ़ नैशनल पार्क है और दूसरी तरफ वहीं पर अमरकंटक, खजुराहो और पचमढ़ी जैसे पर्यटन स्थल भी हैं। ये सभी पर्यटन स्थल, लगभग 150 किलोमीटर के रेडियस में हैं। जबलपुर स्वाभाविक रूप से टूरिज्म का हब है। जबलपुर में भेडाघाट है, जहां पर दुनिया में एकमात्र नर्मदा जी का ऐसा स्थान है, जहां मार्बल रॉक्स हैं और धुआंधार जैसा वॉटरफॉल है, लेकिन दुर्भाग्य से उस ओर जितना ध्यान दिया जाना चाहिए था, उतना नहीं दिया गया। इसलिए मेरा माननीय मंत्री जी से आग्रह है कि किसी न किसी सर्किट में उसे जोड़ें, ताकि बेहतर तरीके से वह टूरिस्ट हब के रूप में विकसित हो। पूरे ईस्टर्न मध्य प्रदेश में केवल जबलपुर एक ऐसी जगह है, जहां हवाई अड्डा भी है। इसलिए मैं मंत्री जी से यह निवेदन भी करना चाहूंगा कि जबलपुर के डुमना एयरपोर्ट, जिसकी ब्रिटिश टाइम में शुरूआत हुई थी, ब्रिटिशर्स ने जबलपुर के महत्व को समझा था, लेकिन जिस तरह से उस पर ध्यान दिया जाना चाहिए था, वह नहीं दिया गया।

          महोदय, उस एयरपोर्ट पर लम्बे अरसे तक गायें चरा करती थीं। मैंने सांसद बनने के बाद उस एयरपोर्ट पर डेक्कन की फ्लाइट से शुरूआत कराई और उसके बाद लगातार वहां से हवाई सेवाओं की शुरूआत हुई। पिछले दिनों वहां एक दुर्घटना घटी। मैंने माननीय मंत्री, श्री अशोक गजपति राजू जी से आग्रह किया था और श्री महेश शर्मा जी से आग्रह किया था। मैं माननीय महेश शर्मा जी का आभारी हूं, जिन्होंने स्वयं बैठक कर के वहां जो संकट था, उसका निपटारा किया।  उसका लाइसेंस रद्द हो गया था।  एक बार फिर वहां से उड़ानें प्रारंभ हुई हैं। वह एयरपोर्ट स्वीकृत है। वहां पर नयी टर्मिनल बिल्डिंग स्वीकृत है, नया एप्रेन स्वीकृत है, नया एटीसी टावर स्वीकृत है।

          सभापति महोदय, मेरी आपके माध्यम से माननीय मंत्री जी और सरकार से मांग है कि जितनी जल्दी हो सके, उतनी जल्दी उसे प्रारंभ करे, क्योंकि उसके आसपास का जितना औद्योगिक क्षेत्र है, वह सब कुछ जबलपुर पर निर्भर करता है। यह ईस्टर्न एमपी का मतलब होता है, लगभग आधा मध्य प्रदेश। जिसका एकमात्र एयरपोर्ट है--जबलपुर एयरपोर्ट। मेरी आपसे यह उम्मीद है, अपेक्षा है कि उसके जो भी काम स्वीकृत हैं, उन्हें बहुत जल्दी पूरा कराने की दिशा में सरकार अपने कदम आगे बढ़ायेगी।

          सभापति महोदय, आपने मुझे इन दोनों मंत्रालयों पर बोलने का, थोड़े में ही सही, अवसर दिया, उसके लिए मैं आपके प्रति आभार प्रकट करता हूं। बहुत-बहुत धन्यवाद।

                                                                                     

*SHRI RAMESHWAR TELI (DIBRUGARH): Sir, I rise to support the Demands for Grants under the control of the Ministries of Civil Aviation and Tourism for the year 2016-17.  The Ministry is doing a commendable job by taking up various schemes to promote tourism in the country.  In the field of aviation also the Ministry has taken various steps to develop air connectivity for the benefit of air passengers.

          I come from Dibrugarh in Assam.  There is a airport in Dibrugarh namely Mohanbari.  I request the Hon’ble Minister to develop Mohanbari airport with all modern facilities so that tourists coming from various parts of the world can visit various places in upper Assam without any difficulty.  Sir, a number of tourists spots are there in Dibrugarh District.  Digboi Oil Refinery which is one of the oldest refineries in the country is one such place.  A number of tea gardens are also there.  The Government is promoting tea tourism in the North-East also.

          I, therefore, request the Hon’ble Minister to take appropriate steps to develop Dibrugarh airport as soon as possible.

HON. CHAIRPERSON :  The House stands adjourned to meet again tomorrow at 11 a.m.   20.00 hours The Lok Sabha then adjourned till Eleven of the Clock on Tuesday, May 3, 2016/Vaisakha 13, 1938 (Saka).       

   

* ण्ड्ढ म्श्र्द अ र्ठ्ठद्धत्ड्ढड्ड ठ्ठडदृध्ड्ढ ण्ड्ढ दठ्ठर्ड्ढ दृढ ठ्ठ ग्ड्ढथ्र्डड्ढद्ध त्दड्डत्हठ्ठय्ड्ढद्म् ण्ठ्ठद्य् ण्ड्ढ र्द्वड्ढद्य्त्दृद र्ठ्ठद्म् ठ्ठहय्द्वठ्ठथ्न्र् ठ्ठत्ड्ढड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ ढथ्दृदृद्ध दृढ ण्ड्ढ Hदृद्वम्ड्ढ डन्र् ण्ठ्ठद्य् ग्ड्ढथ्र्डड्ढद्ध. 

* ग़्दृद्य् द्धड्ढहदृद्धड्डड्ढड्ड.

* ग़्दृद्य् द्धड्ढहदृद्धड्डड्ढड्ड.

* ग़्दृद्य् द्धड्ढहदृद्धड्डड्ढड्ड.

* र्द्धड्ढठ्ठय्ड्ढड्ड ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * ग़्दृद्य् द्धड्ढहदृद्धड्डड्ढड्ड.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * Eदर्थ्त्द्म्ण् य्द्धठ्ठदथ्ठ्ठय्त्दृद दृढ ण्ड्ढ च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् दृद्धश्र्त्दठ्ठथ्न्र् ड्डड्ढथ्त्ध्ड्ढद्धड्ढड्ड त्द व्ड्ढदर्ठ्ठथ्त्.

* ग़्दृद्य् द्धड्ढहदृद्धड्डड्ढड्ड.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ *च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * ग़्दृद्य् द्धड्ढहदृद्धड्डड्ढड्ड.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ.

* च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ * च्द्रड्ढड्ढहण् र्ठ्ठद्म् थ्ठ्ठत्ड्ड दृद ण्ड्ढ र्ठ्ठडथ्ड्ढ.