Headless TCGL sours state's
plans for gusty Millennium fest
In
spite of fabulously drawn up plans, Gujarat may miss the Millennium opportunity
of attracting tourists to its shore. One of the main reasons behind this
is the lack of a functioning of managing director (MD) at the Tourism
Corporation of Gujarat Limited (TCGL) for the last three months, which
is putting a severe strain on the organisation.
Though the Millennium marketing
is in the hands of a committee headed by none other than the minister
for industries & tourism, Suresh Mehta, TCGL plays a vital co-ordinating
role and the MD has been the spokesperson-cum—marketing person behind
the plans.
Since Mr Jayant Parimal,
TCGL’s last MD was transferred, Mr Rajendra Bhatt has been appointed in
his place as MD-incharge, with a well accepted fact that he is only standing
in till a new MD is brought in.
A totally MD-oriented organisation,
TCGL has in its 20 years of existence seen 13 MDs. The rapid changes,
affecting any kind of long-term planning and development have shown on
the organisation’s performance leaving it completely bereft of any competitive
edge.
With tourism projects totaling
an investment of around Rs 1,000 crore in the pipeline, a five-fold increase
in the tourism proposal this year and an increase in some departments
of the Corporation’s departments like tourism information bureau (TIB),
the Corporation is right now at a crucial stage of either taking off or
just caving in.
"As far as the Millennium
goes, we have even taken bookings. As for the organisation, what can I
say? With a total of around 560 employees on the payroll of TCGL, we have
just one Class I officer, when we need at least a dozen. There is no pyramidal
structure, which can function in the absence of an MD. All our fairs and
festivals, announcements and decisions are at a standstill," says a senior
officer, at TCGL.
Among the people who are
crying hoarse are also the Heritage Owners’ Association who have announced
a major event, The Gujarat Durbar as the Millennium attraction. "We have
no one co-ordinating, we have no one to go to with our problems and we
have nobody marketing our event. It’s as if no one is interested. In the
absence of all this, we are going to find it very difficult to hold such
a major event," says Mr Harendrapal Singh, secretary of the association
who had even written a letter signed by the Association members protesting
Mr Parimal’s transfer, so close to the Millennium.
Within the year, Gujarat
has seen much development on its tourism front. Whether in the form of
investments pouring in, joint ventures, the announcement of ambitious
plans like coastal development, a tourist village built on international
bidding at Ahmedpur-Mandvi, building on the pilgrimage locations or the
chartering the Royal Orient for the Millennium, or even selling Kutch
to the West at the last Berlin Travel Fair.
"Most of these have been
promoted and had been possible because of a leader and in the absence
of that, I see an ailing tourist industry in the state," says a spokesperson
from the organisation.
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