BHUBANESWAR: Odisha’s Deputy Chief Minister Pravati Parida has claimed that state has already approved a record Rs 8,153 crore in tourism investments.
This, she said, was part of a broader effort to diversify tourism offerings and promote lesser-known locales while focusing heavily on spiritual tourism around local deities.
To support investors, the government has appointed three officials to streamline land allotments and is working closely with financial institutions to resolve any funding issues, she said on Saturday.
“We are investing Rs 300 crore in infrastructure development to support the tourism sector. Odisha, with its rich spiritual heritage, will emerge as a major destination for spiritual tourism,” Parida affirmed.
She accused the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD of misappropriating public funds for personal gains.
She launched a scathing attack on the tourism expenditures of the past government, claiming that funds allocated for tourism development were instead used to promote an individual, not the state’s tourism industry.
“Earlier, funds meant for tourism were spent to promote one specific individual. However, the current government is people-centric and will never prioritize any specific individual or allot funds for that purpose,” Parida said.
Parida claimed that some leases granted under the previous regime spanned as long as 40 to 80 years, creating long-term legal complications in the state’s efforts to revamp and develop these sites.
“The previous government used tourism funds for favouritism, leading to legal complications in developing tourism spots. This government is committed to ensuring that such practices are never repeated,” she added.
However, BJD MLA Sarada Jena dismissed the claims as baseless and said the current BJP-led government was using the past administration’s achievements as a scapegoat for its own inability to resolve emerging issues.
