LAHORE, July 29: Punjab government high-ups are actively considering merger of tourism department into information and culture department to enhance utility of the former.

“We are actively considering defining a new role for tourism department because in its present form it is doing nothing at a very heavy cost,” a senior official told Dawn here on Tuesday.

The first proposal to wind up the department and place its functions under a board also having the subjects of culture and archaeology was given by its Secretary Khusro Pervaiz Khan a few days ago.

He had maintained tourism was a specialised job and therefore the culture and archaeology wings of the information department should be attached to it.

Information Secretary Orya Maqbool Jan told Dawn that he agreed with the idea but tourism department should be merged into his department instead of leaving just the information wing with him.

Tourism was basically a part of the information department but was separated from it many years ago. The tourism secretary had nothing but the TDCP under him which itself was a failure, he said.

He said tourism in Punjab was directly related to culture and archaeology. Therefore, he added, the three wings would better perform under the information ministry.

He said that he had proposed the creation of directorate generals of archaeology and museums, culture and tourism on the pattern of the directorate general of public relations (DGPR).

This was necessary to properly run the three wings and to give service structure to their employees, he said, adding that a meeting was scheduled to be held on July 31 to take a decision on his proposals.