New Delhi: In order to check acts of harassment and crime against tourists, ten states have deployed tourist police, Lok Sabha was informed today. These states are Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Goa, Kerala, Maharashtra, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan, Jammu Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh and Delhi, Tourism and Culture Minister Ambika said in a written reply.

The minister said safety and security is a state subject and the decision regarding introduction of tourist police has to be taken by the concerned state governments. The Ministry of Tourism has been advising all state governments to deploy tourist police for the safety and security of foreign and domestic tourists, she said. In another reply, Soni said the Ministry of Tourism extends Central Financial Assistance (CFA) to state governments and union territories for development of tourism circuits and destinations, including Eco-Tourism sites under the Scheme of Product and Infrastructure Development for Destinations and Circuits.

Similar assistance is extended under Gram Paryatan Pariyojna for various rural tourism projects in India, the minister said. Rural destination development is supported by GOI-UNDP Endogenous Tourism Project and under the scheme of Capacity Building for Service Providers (CBSP), she said.

Source : PTI