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INTERVIEW OF THE WEEK

For Bhushan Ashok Gagrani Secretary Tourism to Mahrashtra Government & Managing Director (MD) of Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation (MTDC) "innovation" coupled with dedication is the mantra to success. Gagrani is an IAS officer of 1990 batch of the Maharashtra cadre. According to him one of the biggest achievements has been to bring tourism within the reach of a common man.

There are many firsts to the credit of this young, dynamic & enterprising bureaucrat as MD of the MTDC.Like development of full-fledged scuba Diving Centre on Konkan Coast (in Sindhudurga District).Bhushan Ashok Gagrani who is also MD of "Film City" as well holds the charge of Secretary Information & Public Relations(IPR) to the Mahrashtra Government. In a free & frank exclusive interview to <whispersinthecorrdors.com> he unfolded his plans regarding steps to boost tourism in this Western Indian state.

In reply to a question he said "MTDC's 90% accommodation facilities cater to budget tourists. It introduced "bed & breakfast" (B&B) accommodation concept in 1996 & has group accommodation & budget family accommodation at most of its units in Maharashtra. Every year MTDC plans & adds to new places/facilities for budget tourism. In the last & current financial year MTDC has added almost 100 such facilities all over the Maharashtra."He also stated that plans were afoot to work on first of its kind special entertainment zone near Mumbai with a large investment from private sector.

Gragrani who loves to chill out by playing squash has equal measure of passion for mountaineering.Here goes his interview-

1/ What new projects are you going to add/launch?

A- MTDC has launched the following new projects:
i) Full-fledged Scuba Diving Centre on Konkan Coast (in Sindhudurga District).
ii)A Rs. 300 crore coastal tourism development Plan.
iii)Started establishing R.V Parks & Campervan Tourism to develop Road tourism options in Maharashtra.
iv)Forming Umbrella body of all major players of Tourism like Off-beat tourism product providers, Tour-operators & local hotelier groups etc.
v)Arts & Craft village in Mumbai and Aurangabad.
vi)Eco-tourism project in Vidarbha region of the State.
vii) Narrow gauge luxury train in Vidarbha.
viii) Life size cave replicas of 4 caves of Ajanta to provide world class interactive multimedia experience to the visitors.

2/ What are your plans to hold the inbound traffic of domestic tourists?

A- The overall growth in economy, easy accessibility, improved communication & availability of spare time & money have all added to the impressive growth of Tourism ( both inbound & outbound ) up to 15% to 20 % per annum. Increase in Indian Outbound Tourism (Six million) compared to foreign inbound (Four million) gives the impression that inbounds or domestic tourist traffic is decreasing or need plans to hold this traffic.
Nevertheless, to increase the domestic tourist traffic Maharashtra is concentrating on:-
i) Improvement in infrastructure.
ii)Offering diversified tourism product.
iii)Attract private investment in the sector by offering incentives.
iv)Increase budget allocation.
v)Sharing developmental responsibility as

oForest & Eco Tourism.
oPilgrimage Tourism.
oRegional Tourism Development.
oNational & International projects with Central Financial assistance.
oMega projects through overseas funding.

vi)Exploit Area strength & focus accordingly e.g.
oVidharba - Forest & Eco Tourism
oWest Maharashtra/Marathwada - Historical/Heritage Tourism
oKonkan - Beach & Leisure Tourism
oPan Maharashtra - Pilgrimage Tourism.

3/ These day there is lot of stress on budget hotels. What is MTDC doing in that direction?

A- Stress has been on budget hotels by tourism players may be a recent phenomenon, but MTDC has right from its inception (1975) worked on this concept. MTDC's 90% accommodation facilities cater to budget tourists. It introduced "bed & breakfast"( B&B) accommodation concept in 1996 & has group accommodation & budget family accommodation at most of its units in Maharashtra. Every year MTDC plans & adds to new places/facilities for budget tourism. In the last & current financial year MTDC has added almost 100 such facilities all over Maharashtra.The state government has announced elaborate tourism policy, which gives wide range of incentives and tax exemptions to the investor in hospitality sector.

4/ Do you have plans for initiating projects under Public Private Partnership (PPP) principle? If yes then please give details.

A- Tourism's role in employment and wealth creation, its contribution to GDP, its rate of growth has forced all players in government & private to think of PPP. No sector can solely depend on government funding. For speedy growth & for reaping the benefit from the sector in time, private participation in projects & government facilitations can only lead to desired results. MTDC has been implementing PPP since last two decades. Almost 30 of its properties are run by private entrepreneurs. To give further boost to PPP Maharashtra has been preparing shelf plan for Tourism development. The state has introduced an investor friendly tourism policy, a pragmatic land policy & package scheme of incentives to investors in tourism sector. Plans are afoot to work on first of its kind special entertainment zone near Mumbai with a large investment from private sector.

5/ What steps are being taken in terms of infrastructure to hold increased flow of tourists to Maharashtra?

A- To cater to increased inflow of tourist to Maharashtra, the following steps are being taken:
oFour-fold increase in Tourism budget as compared to last Five year plan.
oResponsibility of Infrastructure development for tourism shared as follows
Forest Department - Forest & Eco Tourism.
Rural/Urban Development - Pilgrimage Tourism.
Tourism Department - State & National Tourism Projects.
oMega Infrastructure Projects like Rs. 500 Cr Ajanta Ellora Conservation & Development Project & Rs 300 Cr Coastal Tourism Development project have been undertaken.
oNew Tourism Policy, Land Policy and Package scheme of Incentive for attracting private investment to boost infrastructure.

6/ What are your major achievements ?

A- Major achievements are
oBrought tourism within the reach of common man.
oInvestor friendly Tourism policy.
oImplementing mega heritage projects e.g. Ajanta & Ellora conservation & development project and Coastal Tourism Development project.
oThe super luxury train "The Deccan Odyssey".

AN IMAGINARY CONVERSATION

By the wonder of imagination I can provide you details of the recent telephonic conversation that Manmohan had with Bush. As is customary Bush was expecting Manmohan's call.

Manmohan: Good morning President Bush.
Bush: Partner it's afternoon here and I've just had my forty winks after a heavy steak lunch.
Manmohan: How's Lady Bush???
Bush: Fine ……thank you for asking.
Manmohan: How are Barbara and Jenna??
Bush: Fine... thank you for asking.
Manmohan: How are Papa Bush and Mummy Bush???
Bush: Fine. (Cups the mouthpiece and speaks to an aide) I hope he's not going to go through my family tree and ask me how all of them are????? What's with this guy….. you told me had something important to talk to me!!!
Aide: Boss that's what I was told by his Office.
Manmohan: How are Willie , India and Miss. Beazely???
Bush: Fine…. fine…… fine!!! (cupping the phone and talking to his aide) I might as well ask him about his family as a courtesy!!! ( un-cupping the phone) How's your family???
Manmohan : All are fine……. wife is with me on this overseas trip….my daughters are just fine……son in laws are fine…… grandchildren are fine…..my brothers and their families are fine……
Bush: Very good…….. good to know that all is fine…….
Manmohan: How's your health!
Bush (cupping the phone and talking to his Aide) Christ ……. what's with this guy…..next I hope he'll not ask me about my daily constitution!!! (un-cupping the phone) Tickety- boo!!!
Manmohan: I've recovered from my prostrate surgery.
Bush: Yes Buddy how's the flow???
Manmohan: Pretty good…….. hear your handicap in golf has improved!!!
Bush: Yeah pal…. I'm driving better, and my short game's getting better ….. my putting still needs some improvement!!!
Manmohan: Do you like cricket?????
Bush: (cupping the phone and taking to his aide) From family he went to health and now he's come to games…. what game is he playing???? (uncapping the phone) Cricket's not my cup of tea!!!
Manmohan: Do you know that green tea is very good for one's health……have it with lime and honey!!!!
Bush: ( starts mock banging his head on the table)…… Yes but 'not my cup of tea' is an adage …… I'm a coffee drinking man.
Manmohan: I've read that coffee is very good for the colon…… but one must on only drink decaf coffee!!!
Bush: Thank you for the advice.
Manmohan: What's the weather like in Washington ???
Bush: Well at the moment I'm in Air Force One……. but I guess it's pretty good.
Manmohan: Delhi 's getting out of summers and winter is approaching….. evening are getting cooler with every passing day. I must tell the Mrs., to get the woollens out.
Bush: Yeah do that……. but what…..
Manmohan: What are your post retirement plans???
Bush: Well I'm still contemplating and once I decide I will send you a cross border Memo!!
Manmohan: Yes email it to me…… I'll have my Staff inform your Staff about my email address!!! There's a lot of hacking going on…. hope you are taking the necessary precautions???
Bush: ( now he does not cup the phone and talks aloud to his aide) What's wrong with this guy……… this is more like chatting.. or useless banter!!!! (addressing Manmohan) Buddy why don't you come to the point????
Manmohan: Any news on Osama????
Bush: Well if that's the reason for this call why didn't you say this at the very start……. you should not beat around with a Bush!!! I'll have my Ambassador in Delhi call on you and brief you….wouldn't like to elaborate on this on the phone!!!
Manmohan: Mullford's a decent chap……. by the way what's the news from Tony Blair…….. now that he has a lot of time on his hands maybe he and Cherie could add another member to their family????
Bush: Buddy now this is getting a bit too much…….. so this call is not about Osama….. damnit what do you want to talk to me about ?????
Manmohan: I'm surprised you've not asked me about my Boss Sonia Ji…. the renouncer extraordinaire!!!!!
Bush: Okay Partner how's your Boss and her family????
Manmohan: Sonia Ji's fine…. she has a twitch in one eye it gets worse when she's worried or tense….. but otherwise she's fine. Rahul is now a General Secretary in Congress and working hard to get rid of the Baba or youngster tag. Priyanka is fine….. she's bought a place in the hills….
Bush: Okay Pardner enough is enough…… now either come to the point or I'm hanging-up!!!
Manmohan: (in one breath.... like Mahadevan in his song 'Breathless') Commies are bowling bouncer after bouncer…… our Allies fearing midterm polls are suffering loose stomachs…… Sonia feels it's better to have a bird in hand than two in the bush……. the 123 Deal as of now is off. ( and Manmohan disconnects the phone).

Manmohan to an aide: Phew….. there I told him and tomorrow if he asks me why did I disconnect I'll tell him that it was the connection playing truant!!! Ask Ronen to send a huge Bouquet of flowers to White House……five dozen roses and make sure the rose stems have extra large thorns…….no message …. just say its from me….Bush will understand!!!

Bush to his aide: He's informed me the 123 Deal is off….. and then he disconnected…… what else could the poor guy do……. and he should be thankful that it was not VC call……. don't know with what face he'd told me the Deal is off!!!! Ask Mullford to send Manmohan flowers and a box of bitter chocolates…… no message…. Dr. Singh will understand.

Bharat Kumar

Empanelment process slowed down
The present Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar is learnt to have slowed down the empanelment process as his predecessor B K Chaturvedi had done so in excess. Chances are that there would be no empanelment in the near future because the list of those empanelled is already too long.

An FIR against Mulayam Singh Yadav?

As the grapevine has it an FIR against Smajwadi Party (SP) supremo Mulayam Singh Yadav has been registered by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for allegedly possessing assets disproportionate to his known sources of income.

Pay Commission to reduce number of pay-scales !
The Sixth pay commission chaired by Justice B N Shrikrishna has reportedly decided to reduce the number of pay scales from existing 39 to 16.

A Central Minister sells property in Goa

A property belonging to an Indian Minister in Goa has been bought by an Indian multi national company (MNC). Guess the name.

Jaishree Mukherjee joins GoI
Jaishree Mukherjee has joined the Government of India as Joint Secretary in the Department of North-Eastern Region. Jaishree is 1986 batch IAS officer of Maharashtra cadre.

Arya to join LBSNAA Mussorie
Rajesh Kumar Arya is joining the LBSNAA Mussorie as Deputy Director. He is 1994 batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

Rajesh Prasad joins DDA
H Rajesh Prasad has joined the DDA as Deputy Secretary. He is 1995 batch IAS officer of UT cadre.

Yogeshwar is DIG BSF
B N Yogeshwar has joined the BSF as DIG.He is 1991 batch IPS officer of Rajasthan cadre.

Two new DRMs
Aniruddha Jain has been appointed appointed new DRM of Bhusawal.Satish Kumar will now be DRM Ferozpur.

Vacancy for IFS officer in Dharmshala
The Ministry of External Affairs is in need of a Liaison officer in Dharmshala in the rank of Under Secretary and above.

Who will be Chairman of APEDA ?
K S Money, Chairman of APEDA has joined NHAI as Memeber (Admin). Race is now on for the post of Chairman APEDA. Lots of hopefuls are pulling all sorts of strings. But the post will ultimately go to an 'insider', i.e. a JS currently in the Commerce Ministry.

IRS officer seeks VRS
S Z Mahmood is reported to have sought VRS. He is 1977 batch IRS (IT) officer.

Mohanty gets two year extension
P K Mohanty has been granted two year extension in state-deputation tenure.1985 batch UP cadre IAS officer is presently on deputation to the Uttarakhand Government.

Smita Chugh to go on study leave
Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Rural Development Smita Chugh is going on three year study leave next month. She is 1980 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre.

7 DIG level vacancies in MoEF
There are at least seven vacancies at the DIG level in the Indian Ministry of Environment Forests. A panel of Indian Forest Service (IFS)officers belonging to batches from 1981 to 1988 is to be considered

Rath to lead Indian Delegation
Additional Secretary in the Ministry of Steel A K Rath will lead Indian delegation for the meeting of commission for conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. Meeting is scheduled to take place on October 19 at Tasmania in Australia. Rath is 1973 batch IAS officer of Jharkhand cadre. He is to get promotion this month to the rank of Secretary.

Punjab Govt to adopt Indore pattern of public transport

The Punjab Government being led by Chief Minister Prakash Singh Badal, is going to launch public transport system in its big cities, on the pattern of Indore.Cities where new buses with more passenger friendly interior will ply are: Amritsar, Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Patiala & Bhatinda.

Mathur to go on deputation
Ajai Mathur IRAS is going on deputation to Rail Land Development Authority.

CAT strucks down transfer order of IDEA officer
Transfer of AP Singh Principal Director Defence Estates from Kolkata to Jammu has been struck down by CAT on grounds of malafide.

IPS changes in Kerala

DG Prisons M G A Raman has been appointed MD of the Kerala Books and Publications Society Kochi.K P Somarajan will now be new DG Prisons.Upendra Verma has been appointed Director of the Institute of Management .Siby Mathew will be new DG Vigilance.

IPS postings in Himachal Pradesh

Yog Raj Thakur has been posted as DIG Northern Range.P L Thakur will be DIG Central Range.

Chakrabarti is new Police Commissioner Kolkata
Gautam Mohan Chakrabarti, the additional director-general of police (telecommunication) has taken over police commissioner from Prasun Mukherjee.

FORUM

Pay Commission recommendations

From the whispers on salaries likely to be offered by Pay Commission emerging formula seems simple i.e. BP of fourth Pay Commission * 10. According to this formula (i)Assistant - 1650 *10 = 16500; (ii) Section Officer - 2000 * 10 = 20,000/-; (iii)Under Secretary - 3000*10 = 30,000 (iv) Deputy Secretary - 3700*10 = 37,000;
Director 4100*10 = 41,000 and so on. By that calculation, Secretary would be 8000*10=80000, that is what ur whisper also said. Fifth Pay Commission scales were also more or less equivalent to ten times of third pay commission !
RS Dudani

New talent should be promoted
Technology changes after 36 months, many new comers can change India in the field of atomic energy so new talent should promote he should support from outside .
G Singh

Do your know ?
In 1944, the International Civil Aviation Organisation allotted the registration code of Viceroy Territory (VT)to the aircrafts of India (then under British Rule. Surprisingly, even after 60 years of independence, Govt. of India (M/o Civil Aviation) could not arrange allotment of fresh registration code for India and all registrations of aircrafts (both civil & military)are being registered with the code VT. Ironically, Pakistan has got changed its code (AP) but it is not clear as to why India Civil Aviation authorities are interested to keep the imprint of British rule on our aircrafts ?
Sat B

Can we have faith in police ?
Vanzara in Gujarat, Prasun, Gyanwant and Ajoy in Kolkata, Rathi in Delhi, RK Sharma in Tihar........... - already one needs a spreadsheet to keep the count. Can anyone be expected to have any faith in our police system?
Shantanu

Why Ronen Sen is being misquoted ?
Poor Ronen Sen is being hauled before the Parliament! All because of what he said about the headless chicken curry. It has all been a great misunderstanding.What he was discussing was the old Bengali recipe for making the headless chicken curry. Here is how it is made. Take 2 headless chickens and fry them in ghee in a kadai. In a seperate kadai fry ginger garlic paste and garam masala, add water and add the headless chicken .Bring to boil and simmer on a low heat for 6 hours. Finally add ponchporon masala and garnish with fresh green coriander grown in Midnapur district. This dish of headless chicken is fit for a king. This is the dish of headless chicken receipe that Ronen Sen was discussing with journalists. WHY IS HE BEING MISQUOTED?
D Choudhry

Retirement age should be raised
Yes, it would be very much glad to appropriate that the govt should announce immediately raising of retirement age from 60 to 62 as the longevity and health conditions have improved substantially over the past decade. Besides, since the retirement age has already be raised for teacher, professors, doctors, engineers and what not; and since there is no bar in the private sector for working beyond 60, many people have been seen working upto the age of 70 without much complications. In government also most of the senior and middle level officers are, anyway, getting extensions and consultancy beyond their age of retirement and those who do not get such opportunities are working in the private sector after retirement even up to the age of 68-70 years. Then why the government should not be benefited by the rich experience of their stuff for just another couple of years. Therefore, I strongly feel that the retirement age must be raised to 62 sooner the better.
Satwani

TAIL-PIECE

Another good one ... Sri Rama surveyed the Ramsetu and said, "Hanuman, how diligently you and your vanara sena built this bridge. How remarkable that it has withstood the ravages of time, considering that a bridge at Hyderabad built by Gammon using the latest technology collapsed the other day even before they could stick posters on its pillars." Hanuman said humbly, "Lord, it is because of your grace. We just wrote your name on the rocks and threw them into the sea and they held up. No steel or cement was used. But Lord, why rake it up now?" Said Rama, "Well, Hanuman, some people down there want to demolish your bridge and construct a canal. The contract involves lots of money. They will make money on demolition and more money on construction." Hanuman asked, "Why don't we go down and present our case?" "No," said Rama, "Times have changed. Historians will ask us to submit proof of our existence. Do we have a birth certificate, a school-leaving certificate or a driving license? As for address proof, the fact that I was born at Ayodhya is itself under litigation for over half a century. If I go dressed as usual, the ordinary people may recognise me but politicians will take me to be a lost Ramlila actor." "But I built it! I'll swear on oath!" "My dear Anjaniputra, it will not work. They will ask you to produce the layout plan, the project details like financial outlay, how the project cost was met and the completion certificate. They may even want to see your engineering college degree." "Lord, I don't understand. You have given darshan regularly to 'historical' figures like Surdas, Thyagaraja, Jayadeva and Tukaram, yet people disbelieve your existence? Should we replay the Ramayana on earth to set the government record straight?" The Lord smiled. "It won't happen. Ravana is terrified that Karunanidhi will make a saint of him. And his mama Mareecha, who appeared as the golden deer to tempt Sita, refuses to step on earth for fear of Bollywood hunters. Let it be."

Contributed by -Vijay Arora

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CORPORATE

BHEL employees to retire at 60 !
There is again move to enhance the retirement age of BHEL employees to 60 years. One can only wait and watch.

Manjula Khurana is ED (Consumer Services ) NACIL

Manjula Khurana is the Executive Director (Consumer Services) of the National Aviation Company of India Ltd (NACIL), the new company into which Air India and Indian have been merged.

A paradox that Oil India faces

The Oil India which is soon going to launch its mega public issue faces a paradox.Its Sikandra Road located head office Delhi, in accordance with the Supreme Court ruling is being sealed by New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).

Mitra shifted to CIL Hqs

ECL Deputy Chief of Finance P K Mitra has been shifted to the CIL Headquarters.

Reddy elected Chairman

V Anand Reddy has been elected as Chairman, Indo- American Chamber of Commerce (IACC), Andhra Pradesh Chapter.