Jaipur: When the state govt makes Budget announcements, it also allocates funds for the same. However, for the tourism department, this is not the case, leading to downsizing of projects and prolonged delays.Along with the Budget proposals, the finance department announced the creation of a Rs 1,500 crore Tourism Development Fund, but the govt itself is not contributing to the fund. Instead, the finance department has asked RTDC to raise loans of Rs 1,500 crore to fund the tourism projects announced in state Budgets.Officials said the finance department is reluctant to provide funds for projects announced in the past 4-5 state Budgets. Only in cases where there is political pressure or other urgency does it release some funds, they said. On the other hand, RTDC has been able to secure loans amounting to nearly Rs 700 crore in the past three years out of the Rs 1,500 crore. The loans are expected to be paid off from the revenues it would get from leasing out its hotels, motels, and midway facilities.In fact, many of RTDC’s properties are not in its own name. Without the property title, it cannot transfer them. The exercise to transfer the title rights of the properties in RTDC’s name has been going on for the past couple of years.“We have projects to complete, but there is no budgetary support from the govt. It’s been a new trend in the past few years, where the state govt does not finance the Budget proposals. Only some projects, where there is pressure or urgency, are allocated funds. The result is reflected in the reduction of size and scale of the projects originally accepted by the finance department,” said an official.In the past, when RTDC was unable to pay salary and retirement benefits to its employees, the finance department had given Rs 150 crore. In lieu of these funds, four of RTDC’s properties—in Ratangarh (Bikaner), Pokhran, Gulabpura (Bhilwara), and Mohua (Agra Road)—were transferred to the finance department.Rajasthan is perhaps the only state in the country where the finance department does not allocate funds for Budget proposals.
