PANJIM: While Goa Tourism department and its subsidiary corporation seem to be in a tussle over the demarcation of its mandates, the latter is reluctant to give away the festivals designed by it over the years claiming it as their baby.
And while both the department and the corporation have firmly ruled out differences and said they are working together, those in the know say that within the walls of the picturesque ‘Paryatan Bhavan’, there are a few clouds of unease floating and this has got to do with a subtle shift of power, of sorts
After the BJP-led government assumed power in March 2012, the tourism department was stripped of its power to empower the GTDC by creating a special purpose vehicle, the state-level marketing and promotion committee (SLMC). This has the minister as its Chairman and GTDC Chairman as Vice Chairman.
The four-month-old Manohar Parrikar-led coalition recently decided to revert the marketing and promotional activities to the Tourism Department, (the mother ship) which were earlier resting with Goa Tourism Development Corporation (GTDC), the subsidiary corporation.
The change in the mandate is somehow digested by the GTDC officials led by its Chairman Nilesh Cabral, but they are averse to giving away the events like Grape Escapade and Food and Cultural Festivals, which were designed by them to encourage the footfalls. Pending a detailed meeting to assign fresh responsibilities, there are apprehensions the entertainment events might now be hosted by the parent department.
These two brands among many others have grown in the tourism circle making them on par with the festivities like Carnival, which has been one of the domestic tourist attractions in the State.
Cabral said that these events are GTDC’s babies which have been nurtured all these years learning from the experiences. But if these events are taken over by the department, he said, the Corporation is capable to launch new events with newer concepts.
“We have locally grown events like Grape Escapade, Food & Cultural Festival, Heritage festival, Coconut & Cashew Festival, etc to create environment of tourism. These have become popular. A private entrepreneur cannot (handle) because it (events) does not generate that much income… It cannot be a self sustaining model… We charge a nominal fee like Rs 20,000-Rs 30,000 per stall for four days, compared to over Rs 1 crore spent on each event… These events are created by GTDC and launched on a bigger platform with the support of the government, every year,” he claimed.
Asserting that Corporation does not doubt the ability of the department, GTDC insists it is their baby to continue the events. “The Tourism dept always handled international promotions whereas GTDC takes care of local/domestic events. If the department desires to take our events, I have no issues but GTDC might start new events. We are all professional employees who think out of the box. Here too, we will seek support and financial help from the Tourism Department,” he said quickly adding “What’s important is the interest of Goa Tourism.”
Tourism Minister Babu Azgaonkar, is tight lipped about the shifting sands regarding the professional mandate of the Department and the corporation
“The marketing committee will sit to decide what activities will be handled by the Department and Corporation. Nothing has been finalized yet,” Tourism Minister Manohar Azgaonkar told Herald.
Nilesh Cabral has “ruled out that there are any differences with Azgaonkar, though. Herald got a similar reaction from the minister who said, “We are working in coordination. Tourism Department will be taking along GTDC for all kinds of activities. There are no differences between us at any point of time.”
Cabral clarified that the cabinet has not “clipped GTDC’s wings’ but relieved from raising the bills for events. “Earlier, GTDC would raise the bills to the department that would sanction and forward it to the Finance Department. The amount would then be paid to us. But with the new decision, the department will raise the bill and ultimately make the payment to the concerned agencies roped in for the shows,” he explained.
