BENEFIT-COST RATIO OF OPEN SPACE PRESERVATION FOR THE CAUSE OF ENVIRONMENT & TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN AN INDIAN CITY

Governments in developing countries, generally, convert open spaces meant for greenery or some recreation project, to concrete forest for revenue maximization. In this way, long term gains of preserving such spaces for the benefits of residents or tourists are ignored. Nek Chand’s Rock Garden in the Chandigarh city of India is an environmental education spot visited by millions of tourists each year. City administration considered this project as violation of city’s master plan in the beginning but later on agreed to maintain this monument. Annual tourism value of this spot is very handsome but amount spent by city administration on its maintenance and expansion is still not adequate. Need for maintaining this important site by way of high benefit cost ratio (B/C ratio) has been emphasized in the article.