Kohima, October 17 (MExN): Reacting to the news item ‘Kisama: tourist dismay, but revelers favourite delight”, Commissioner and Secretary of Tourism, Khekiye K Sema, today said that the ‘crumbling morungs’ are temporary food stalls being constructed annually, while the peripheral sectors of the complex as it appears in the story has not been maintained.
Thanking this newspaper for giving the department a ‘small attention’, Khekiye maintained that the department has no intention of hiding anything on its financial activities from those who are keen to know. Commissioner and secretary gave the break up of earning by the department during the Hornbill Festival as Rs 2,84,300 in 2003; Rs 2,80,000 in 2004; Rs 2,66,288 in 2005 and Rs 2,90, 130 in the year 2006.
This amount, he said, has been deposited to the treasury. Similarly, the revenue earned from the daily ticket when collected are also deposited to the Treasury when received, Khekiye said. Every year, the department reserved Rs 30 lakhs (not Rs 36 lakhs), in the budget for bringing in approximately and the balance amount is normally utilized for building the temporary food and shop stalls in and around the complex on annual basis, he clarified.
“The department does not have the financial capacity to maintain the complex on very regular basis though efforts are made to do clean-up jobs at interval which may not necessarily be up to the expectation of the public’, Khekiye said. He also said that the department is keeping Zalezo (not Chalezo) as an additional to take care of the plantation within the complex. He is allowed to collect Rs 5 from the daily visitors, of which 50% of the total income is deposited to the department as revenue.
The department also gave break up of the revenue receipt from the collection as: Rs 13,777 during June 2006 to April 2007, Rs 9,157 during May to August 2007, while the revenue from the allotted stall as Rs 1000. It also stated that 50% balance is being given to Zalezo to be utilize for the general responsibilities, and further the first phase of plantation made by Zalezo has been personally funded by the office of the Chief Minister, therefore, the claim that he is not remunerated is not the fact, the C&S stated.
