The budget tabled on Saturday by Union finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman evoked mixed reactions in the tea and tourism industry of north Bengal — the two sectors that generate the most jobs in this region.

While a section of the stakeholders have said that announcements made in the budget would help in the growth of both sectors, many others have underscored that only proper implementation of the plans would ensure such growth.

Sitharaman said the Centre intended to develop top 50 tourist destinations in the country in partnership with the states.

The states will provide the land for the infrastructure in these sites and hotels in such destinations will be included in the HML (harmonised master list) of infrastructure.

The HML is a list notified by the Union finance ministry that identifies different sectors and sub-sectorsas infrastructure.

The finance minister said that skill development programmes for youths would be conducted and homestays would be included under the ambit of MUDRA loans to facilitate employment-led growth in tourism.

The Centre will work to improve ease of travel and connectivity to touristdestinations and provide performance-linked incentives to states for effective destination management,Sitharaman added.

“The announcements hint that the Centre is making some long-term planning for the tourism sector. But, it is more important that such announcements are translated to the ground. Only then can the industry experience some growth and more employment opportunities,” said Samrat Sanyal, the general secretary of the Himalayan Hospitality & TourismDevelopment Network.

Debashis Chakraborty, the general secretary of the Eastern Himalaya Travel & Tour Operators Association, said the decision to provide loans under the MUDRA scheme to homestays was welcome.

“In recent years, hundreds of homestays have mushroomed in north Bengal and Sikkim. Loans will help the owners provide better services to tourists,” he said.

The Centre’s emphasis on destinations related to Lord Buddha can benefit the region as Sikkim and Kalimpong are traditionally Buddhist destinations, he added. “We share borders with Bhutan, Nepal and Bihar. A concerted effort can help create an integrated Buddhist circuit covering our region,”Chakraborty said.

In the budget, Sitharaman didn’t directly make any announcement for the tea industry, a sector that provides livelihood to over a million people in the north Bengal.

“The industry is facing various challenges… we had expected some announcements in the budget, in the form of assistance or relief,” said a tea planter based in Siliguri.

Others pointed out that some announcements could help the tea industry.

“The decision to set up a urea plant at Namrup in Assam with an annual capacity of 12.7 lakh metric tonnes can mitigate the requirement of urea for the tea industry. Also, the plan to focus on clean tech manufacturing will help in installing solar panels in tea estates and slash power bills,” said Prabir Bhattacharjee, the secretary general of the Tea Association of India.