Goa's tourism master plan to be ready in four months

Goa's tourism master plan and policy would be ready in the next three to four months, state minister Manohar Ajgaonkar told the Legislative Assembly on Thursday.

Ajgaonkar, who is the state Tourism Minister, said the master plan as well as the policy would be prepared keeping in mind the draft Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) notification, 2018.

He said the master plan and the policy were currently being drafted by a consultant, who would submit them to the Goa government in the next three to four months.

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The minister was responding to a question tabled by Congress MLA Philip Neri Rodrigues in the House.

Rodrigues said the tourism industry needs to be given specific directions, for which proper planning is required and a policy needs to be framed.

Responding to different questions, Ajgaonkar admitted that there had been a delay on the part of the state government to formulate the master plan as well as the policy.

"But now we are working actively. The policy will give proper directions to the tourism industry in the state," he said.

The minister said the tourism policy is taking into consideration the guidelines and aspects in the draft CRZ notification, prepared by the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change and sent to the state governments for their suggestions.

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The Goa government has already given its nod for the draft CRZ notification, 2018.

The minister assured that industry experts, stakeholders and people concerned would be taken into confidence while drafting the master plan and the policy for tourism.