Jharkhand chief minister Hemant Soren has directed forest and tourism officials towards an early action plan to develop the state as an eco-tourism hub by studying the best practices of other states and other countries.

The directive was issued on Monday evening in a meeting chaired by the chief minister and attended amongst others by senior bureaucrats led by chief secretary Alka Tiwari, forest and environment department secretary Abu Bakr Siddiqui and tourism secretary Manoj Kumar in Ranchi. Hemant Soren has stressed the immense possibilities for eco-tourism in the state which have so farbeen “untapped”.

“Eco tourism should be developed in the state in such a way that along with providing employment to the local people, nature can also be preserved. The forest and environment department and the tourism department should work with better coordination to identify those potential places in Jharkhand for the development of eco-tourism,” Hemant Soren told the officials during the meeting.

The chief minister has directed the officials to focus especially on schemes promoting eco-tourismin the state.

“By promoting eco-tourism, the natural beauty of Jharkhand will get a different identity in the country and the world. The officials should study the eco-tourism model of other states of the country or other countries where good work has been done in the field of eco-tourism,” Soren further directed the officials.

He also directed the officials of both the departments to work “with commitment” with the aim to give recognition to Jharkhand on the global map in the fieldof tourism.