New Delhi: Having made a remarkable difference in every job that he held, at the age of 41, Kannanthanam Joseph Alphons entered Time magazine’s list of 100 young global leaders. (The only other Indian listed then — in 1994 — was industrialist Mukesh Ambani).
In the recent Cabinet reshuffle, the 63-year-old former bureaucrat from Kerala was given independent charge as Minister of State in the Ministry of Tourism and Minister of State for Electronics and IT. Tasked with giving impetus to the important ministries, he was chosen by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The 8th rank holder in the Civil Services examination in 1979, Alphons ran pitched battles against corruption, as commissioner of the Delhi Development Authority. Earning the sobriquet the ‘Demolition Man’ for razing over 14,000 illegal buildings in the city, he reclaimed land worth Rs100 billion (Dh5.6 billion). Backed by the Communist Party of India (Marxist)-led Left Democratic Front, he entered politics in 2006 and won the assembly elections as an independent candidate.
With tourism being the third largest foreign exchange earner for the country, Alphons, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in 2011, is now expected to bring good cheer to the sector. Also, to make further inroads in Kerala, it was essential for the BJP to create a healthy relationship with the Christian community. With Alphons’ induction, the state has got its first representation in the three-year-old Modi government.
The minister speaks to Gulf News in an exclusive interview:
Your appointment is being seen as BJP’s strategy to bridge the gap between the party and the Christian community.
I have an excellent relationship with the Christian community. So, whatever I can do in my capacity, I will do to build up this bond between my community and the party.
Having hit the headlines by demolishing over 14,000 illegal structures in Delhi in the 1990s, what revolutionary steps do you intend taking in the tourism sector?
We need to build up the fundamentals so that foreign tourist arrivals, which stood at 8.8 million in 2016, multiply manifold in the near future. For that, we have to first clean up India and we are heading in this direction in full steam. Along with this, there’s the need to market our country in terms of our ancient monuments, the backwaters, the tropical areas, the mountains and the hills. India can take advantage of the fact that one does not find all these in many of the countries. With 5,000 years old civilisation and philosophical school of thoughts, we are still lagging in tourism.
Does that include domestic tourism?
Certainly yes. And that too is our focus. From around 150 million domestic tourists, we want to increase that number too. The idea is to contribute to the economy. Tourism can be a huge money-spinner for any country.
Of course, a rise in tourist figures will benefit us remarkably. I am interested in earning more revenue and create employment. All this rests on marketing India to the world. We are an amazing country, but now we need to tell outsiders that we are also a fantastic destination to visit.
What key challenging areas are you striving to overcome?
We need to do two things fast — first and foremost is to work towards cleaning our cities. Each one of us has to take the responsibility of keeping our neighbourhood clean. Tourists should have a pleasant experience of walking and shopping around the cities. Second is, for all of us to realise and say tourism is our main business. Since it contributes significantly to providing employment, it will help eliminate poverty and have other multiple effects.
Heritage and culture are big strengths in tourism, but far from adequate attention has been paid to these in India. How do you plan to turn things around?
We shall work in tandem with the culture department, so that tourists visit not only to see and go, but also to enjoy and have a feel of the places. We have launched the ‘Adopt a Heritage’ scheme, inviting private and public sector companies to become ‘Monument Mitras’ (Friends of Monuments). These mitras will adopt heritage sites, develop basic and advanced amenities at monuments and look after their operation and maintenance. For their services, the mitras will be given visibility on the monument premises and also on the tourism ministry’s Incredible India website.
Any plans of promoting cruise tourism in the country that has nearly 7,500km coastline along 13 states?
Yes, since India offers a diverse portfolio of niche tourism products, we plan to improve our infrastructure around tourist destinations, including cleaning up our beaches, so that tourists prefer it to other destinations. We have a long way to go.
What about spirituality and wellness traditions?
These are the highlights of our Incredible India campaign and we are pursing things in a big way to create more accommodation. India has been recognised as a destination for spiritual tourism for both domestic and international tourists and we will develop cities, including Kerala, to promote their spirituality quotient and wellness potential. Known for its incredible natural beauty, Munnar in Kerala needs to be packaged in a manner to create a unique destination. Yoga and ayurvedic healing systems will form a part of it.
What are your immediate priorities in electronic and IT sectors in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Make in India campaign?
The priorities have been to go for digitisation in a big way and create a Digital India. The entire country should benefit from technology and even as ease of doing business has improved significantly, it has to get even better in the coming years. Through Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ mission, we have to increase and improve the production of electronic goods in the country.
• K.J. Alphons was born on August 8, 1953 in Manimala village, Kottayam district, Kerala.
• He did his early schooling from George School, Manimala and thereafter studied at the Jawaharlal Nehru University, New Delhi.
• He topped the Indian Administrative Services examinations and took charge as sub-collector of Devikulum.
• Pioneered the literacy movement as district collector, making Kottayam the first 100 per cent literate town in India — 1989.
• Resigned from IAS and got elected as Member of Legislative Assembly from Kanjirappally — 2006.
• He is a practicing lawyer in the High Court and the Supreme Court of India.
