Stating that the World Heritage Site of Hampi needed better tourism infrastructure and facilities for tourists, the High Court Karnataka on Saturday requested the Advocate-General to convey its suggestion to the State government to take necessary steps as tourism would also yield good revenue to the exchequer.
A Division Bench, comprising Chief Justice Prasanna B. Varale and Justice Krishna S. Dixit, made these observations orally while hearing a PIL petition filed in 2016 on the issue of illegal buildings in prohibited and regulated zones of Sowmya Keshava temple, an ancient monument, situated at Nagamangala in Mandya district.
Karnataka was number one in tourism in the 1990s, and now perhaps Madhya Pradesh was in the top position, the Bench said. Hampi required better tourism facilities as the existing facilities were not sufficient for tourists and the government had to do something to address the issue, it added.
The government could always consult experts for creating better facilities by adhering to the norms attached to World Heritage Sites, the Bench suggested.
Tourism in small countries
Pointing out that there were several small countries in the world whose Budget depended entirely upon the income from tourism in the absence of industrial and other sources for generating revenue, the Bench said the State government could adopt best practices in tourism as Karnataka had a large number of tourism destinations that could generate good revenue if proper facilities were provided for tourists at such places.
Meanwhile, the Bench directed the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) to issue notices to owners and occupants of 1,566 buildings, as found in ASI’s survey, existing around the Sowmya Keshava temple to verify whether the buildings were built illegally in violation of the provisions of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958.
During the earlier hearing, the Bench had expressed displeasure over the slow pace of action by the Mandya district administration and the ASI in surveying constructions around the temple, and initiating further action despite a direction issued in this regard by the court in 2020.
