The Union Territory (UT) Administration, Chandigarh is mulling on a model to make the city a tourist hub from where visitors can visit Kurukshetra, Anandpur Sahib, Patiala, Shimla or any other destination within a radius of 100km with the launch of some specially-approved tourist cabs, which will be exempted from inter-state tax. According to a report in Times of India, appreciating the concept, Ram Niwas, UT Home Secretary, Chandigarh said, ‘’The concept will help in boosting tourism. We will deliberate on the proposal and endeavour to make it feasible with the co-operation of the neighbouring states.’’
Elaborating on it, Samvartak Singh, UT Director Tourism, Chandigarh said, “We have spruced up Sector 17 plaza, Sukhna Lake and many other sites. For the first time, a budget of Rs 12 crore was granted for this. We are working on an inter-state tourism model.’’ While Haryana is keen on this and will soon implement it, Punjab is reluctant. Kiran Chaudhary, Minister of Tourism and Culture, Haryana said, “The proposal has been accepted and ours is the only state working on inter-state tourism.” |