Haryana on rapid development path; prepares for C'Wealth games

New Delhi, Nov 17 (UNI) Haryana has embarked on a rapid development path by attracting foreign direct investment of Rs 1380 crore in the last 18 months and presently projects of about Rs 40,000 crore are under implementation besides creation of investment of over Rs 10,000 crore in the industrial sector since the Industrial Policy 2005 was announced.

Talking to reporters on the Haryana Day at the ongoing India International Trade Fair 2006 (IITF-2006) at Pragati Maidan today, Haryana Chief Secretary Prem Prashant informed that the state is focusing on tourism development and formulating a Tourism Policy in consultation with the private sector and other government departments to tap the potential of the state and promote it as a major destination for tourists.

As tourism being the major engine of growth, has great capacity to create large scale employment in many parts of the world. The State would soon decide on setting up Tourism Economic Zone (TEZ) on the lines of Special Economic Zones (SEZ).

Tourism is the fast growing industry and Haryana intends to take full advantage of the CommonWealth Games to be held here in 2010 by facilitating construction of hotels to generate huge employment potential in the state.

The Union Tourism Ministry expects Haryana to provide about 10,000 rooms in the periphery of Delhi before 2010.

At present, Haryana has a network of 44 tourist complexes all over the state and these are being visited by more than 60 lakh tourists, both domestic and foreigners year.

He said in Haryana, the concepts of Farm Tourism, Adventure Tourism and Pilgrim Tourism have been successfully introduced.

Highlighting the achievements of the State, Mr Prashant said that of the total IT and IT-enabled services exports of 100,000 crore from the country, the state's share was 10 per cent of the total such exports to the tune of Rs 10,700 crore.

In the last two years, 30 large and medium and 1290 small scale industrial units have been set up in Haryana thus raising their number to 1,380 and 80,000 respectively.

He said the total exports from the state have shot up to Rs 25,000 crore. The major items being exported include software, handloom products, scientific instruments, garments, automobiles and automotive components, electrical appliances, rice, guargum and pickles.

The Chief Secretary further told that the recent visit of Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda to five European countries -- Netherlands, UK, Spain, Germany and France -- leading an official-cum-business delegation has yielded an additional investment of Rs 12,000 crore, which is the result of industrial and investment-friendly climate created in the state.

Nearly 50 per cent of the vehicles in the country are manufactured in Haryana, he added.

Unemployment being a major problem, the government has set up an Overseas Placement Bureau to facilitate the youth in getting employment abroad.

Mr Prashant said that an Education City named after former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi is also being set up near Kundli and it would be developed as a centre of excellence. 25 per cent of the seats would be reserved for the students of Haryana.

Haryana humming's with activity, its connectivity with Delhi is being as improved which included Metro Rail Link with Bahadurgarh and Gurgaon, four laning of Delhi-Rohtak stretch of national highway No. 1 and electrification of Delhi-Rohtak rail link.

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