Chandigarh April 22, 2024:- The Department of Public Administration, Panjab University, Chandigarh organized a special lecture on 22.04.2024 at 10.30 AM to commemorate Earth Day.  Dr.Neeru Katyal Gupta, IAS, Director, Tourism and Cultural Affairs, Govt. of Punjab delivered a special lecture on the topic “Tourism Policy of Punjab with Focus on Eco-Tourism” under the series “Public Policy - Theory & Praxis".
Earth Day is commemorated every year to protect the planet and to generate awareness about resource conservation and sustainability. The theme of this year’s is “Planet Vs Plastics”. Prof. Ramanjit K. Johal chaired the session. Dr.Neeru Katyal in her lecture outlined the procedure for policy approval and discussed the role of different stake holders in policy formulation. She shared the evolution of tourism policy landscape in Punjab and informed the audience the Govt. is facilitating investment opportunities in this field and has setup a regulatory framework for its thrust area of eco-tourism. The objective of eco-tourism is to promote nature tourism, promote bio-diversity, engagement of local communities, and recognizing the need to integrate the interest of people and nature. While the sharing the guidelines issued by the govt. for private forest land owners, she also shared various challenges faced in implementation of the programme. Case studies of Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Sikkim which are following best practices in the field of eco-tourism were also shared.
The lecture was followed by interaction with the audient, students and research scholars. Discussed various schemes of the Central Govt. and their implementation in the State of Punjab. Prof. Ramanjit K. Johal in her remarks highlighted the importance of inviting practitioners to the University to give practical exposure the students. She also emphasized the importance of following sustainable practices in all walks of life.
Dr. Bhawna Gupta proposed the vote of thanks.