Kerala Tourism is a role model for other States in developing destinations, tourism products, marketing strategies and use of Information Technology, but not in securing the financial assistance from the Centre.
For the two consecutive years, the State has failed to get the mandatory nod of the Union Tourism Ministry for any of the 10 key tourist projects worth Rs. 205.37 crore submitted for financial assistance from the Union Government.
In 2014-15, the State submitted seven prioritised tourism projects worth Rs. 80.37 crore to the Centre. In 2015-16, three more projects under Swadesh Darshan estimated to cost Rs. 125 crore were submitted to the Ministry.
None of these 10 projects had been given the approval by the Ministry despite the pressure exerted at the highest level by the State and IAS officials from Kerala cadre in the Ministry.
Officials are tight-lipped on why the new tourism projects submitted by Kerala Tourism were not cleared by the Ministry in the last two years.
The State was given the nod to execute three to nine tourism projects annually during the 2009-10 to 2013-14 period. As many as 31 projects were kicked-off in the State with the financial assistance from the Union Government.
The State has also submitted the Utilisation Certificate for the amount released by the Centre for all these 31 projects, official sources said, adding that delay in implementing the project after getting the nod was not the reason for Kerala not figuring in the priority list.
Kerala has taken the denial of the central assistance for the upcoming tourism projects at the highest level.
