Institution of Local Self Governance and its Linkages with Tourism

• The Panchayats also expects proper management and land use,which is not detrimental to the environment and mainly aimingtoward s the preservation and conservation of their naturalresources and heritage.• Since the hotel industry depends on the same source for water,which the Panch ayats depend on, the Panchayats expectsbeforehand to be informed about the source, the volume ofreq uirement, as they do not want to be deprived of the basicsource and facilities, which belong to them.• As far as fo rests and usage of mineral resources are concerned,the state accepts the community's right over minor forest produceand minor minerals. Wh en opening the Minor fo rests to thetourism industry, the locals expects the full ownership of thenatural products such as bamboo, gum, honey, coir, fruits, herbalmedicines belonging to the forest as they enjoy customary rightsover it. But it is widely seen that the locals do not have access tothe forests and its prod ucts , once an industry is set up.Apart from the above expectations, the right to info rmation, which isgaining support in many states, makes it obligatory for any industrylike tourism to inform beforehand to the Panchayats about anyproject from its initial stage to its completion.• The Panchayats have the right to know about the master plan,budget and plan outlay of a project. The Panchayats also ought toknow what ro le they are going to play from its planning stage tothe impleme ntation and monitoring.• The Panchayats also expects economic benefit, employmentopportunities and some vocational training and education fo r itspeople to get familia rized with the latest technology anddevelopment.• Other expectations, which the Panchayats expects from the51