New Delhi, Apr 28 : The scheme of relaxation of leave travel allowance (LTA) rules allowing central government employees to travel to the northeastern region by air has been extended by two years with effect from May 1.
The department of personal and training issued a notice pertaining to the extension on April 20. The scheme was the brainchild of former DoNER minister Mani Shankar Aiyar that the current minister has expanded.
In February, DoNER minister Bijoy Krishna Handique appealed to Union minister of state for personnel, public grievances and pension Prithviraj Chauhan to extend the scheme “in view of the tremendous enthusiasm generated among the central government employees”.
The relaxation had resulted in a large number of families visiting the region in the past year and a half.
Handique mentioned that the extension would give necessary fillip to the tourism potential and economy of the region.
According to the available data, the inflow of domestic tourists to the eight northeastern states recorded a growth of 21 per cent in the past two years. The year 2009 saw a growth of 11 per cent in the inflow of domestic tourists compared to the previous year.
“This growth is chiefly attributed to the huge increase in LTC tourists since introduction of the scheme initiated by the DoNER ministry in May, 2008. There was a total domestic inflow of 5.7 million tourists in the year 2009,” a DoNER release said today.
Handique appealed to all the state governments and the people of Northeast to avail this opportunity to give a boost to the tourism and create more employment avenues in the region.
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