Changes in land acquisition laws will be brought: Balakrishnan

Thiruvananthapuram, Feb 2 (UNI) Kerala Home and Tourism Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan today said comprehensive changes would be made in the land acquisition laws to acquire prime land for tourism projects.

Inaugurating a workshop on 'Responsible Tourism', he, however, said the government would not involve in controversies while acquiring the land for tourism purpose.

The government would take concrete steps to rehabilitate the families whose land were taken for tourism purpose in the nearby areas. Jobs would be provided to one member of each affected family in the tourism project, he added.

He said all measures would be taken to ensure that the benefit of tourism projects reach the local people in the area.

Stating that a huge number of people possessed large area of land, the minister said if the owners approached the government for declaring the area as Special Economic Zone (SEZ), the government would consider their demand if it was connected with tourism.

Referring to the recent attack on a foreign tourist at Thekkady, he said police assistance booths would be opened in tourist centres to provide protection to tourists.

Steps would also be taken to make auto and taxi drivers, hotel employees and local people aware on how to behave with foreigners, he said.

Apart from Kathakali, other traditional art forms of the state would be presented before the foreign tourists, he said adding the state had a number of enchanted unknown tourist destinations and steps would be taken to highlight the places before the world with the help of local bodies.

UNI