{"product_id":"the-meghalaya-tourism-paradox-from-policy-to-paperwork-tourism-power-and-the-meghalaya-accountability-gap-9798279157662","title":"The Meghalaya Tourism Paradox: From Policy to Paperwork: Tourism, Power, and the Meghalaya Accountability Gap","description":"\u003cp\u003e • Author(s): Mawphniang Napoleon\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • Publisher Imprint: Independently Published\u003cbr\u003e • BISAC: Public Policy - Social Policy\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe Tourism Charade: When Rs 6,000 Crores Buys Phantom Projects and Broken Promises\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWhat happens when over Rs 6,000 crores flows into tourism development, yet infrastructure cracks before inauguration, workers remain exploited, communities stay marginalized, and nobody faces consequences?\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn December 2023, journalists exposed that Rs 1,300 crores worth of World Bank-funded tourism projects in Meghalaya's East Garo Hills district were abandoned or existed only on paper-money borrowed in the state's name that will be repaid for thirty years, yet bought little more than enrichment for the well-connected. Two days later, the Chief Minister rejected the \"scam\" characterization. The government called it \"delays.\" Then the news cycle moved on.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis is just one scandal in a decade-long pattern of tourism governance dysfunction that advocate and ethicist \u003cb\u003eMawphniang Napoleon\u003c\/b\u003e exhaustively documents in \u003ci\u003eThe Tourism Charade\u003c\/i\u003e. Drawing on 247+ citations including government budgets, constitutional audit reports, investigative journalism, policy documents, and worker testimonies, Napoleon reveals how Meghalaya's tourism sector-marketed as eco-sustainable and community-empowering-operates through institutional corruption, phantom projects, accountability vacuums, and systematic exploitation.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThis book exposes: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow Rs 1,300+ crore in projects vanished while officials faced no consequences\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy MTDC corruption allegations from 2018 remain unresolved seven years later\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow infrastructure at sites like Siju Caves crumbles within months of construction\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy tourism workers describe precarious employment despite sector growth\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow \"community-based tourism\" often means community land extraction, not empowerment\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eWhy comprehensive policy frameworks exist on paper but not in practice\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003eHow public investment subsidizes private profit while socializing losses\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eBut this book goes beyond documentation.\u003c\/b\u003e Napoleon proposes concrete accountability architecture-transparency mechanisms, community oversight systems, smart contracts, and citizen mobilization strategies-that could transform tourism governance and provide templates for reform across sectors.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWho needs this book: \u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eMeghalaya citizens\u003c\/b\u003e tired of seeing public money wasted while officials face no consequences\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTourism workers\u003c\/b\u003e seeking evidence to support demands for fair treatment and secure employment\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCommunity leaders\u003c\/b\u003e navigating tourism projects affecting their lands and resources\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003ePolicymakers\u003c\/b\u003e genuinely committed to reform (and evidence of what's broken)\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eActivists and organizers\u003c\/b\u003e needing evidentiary foundation for accountability campaigns\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eResearchers and journalists\u003c\/b\u003e investigating governance, development, and power in Northeast India\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAnyone\u003c\/b\u003e wondering why documentation of dysfunction rarely produces accountability\u003c\/p\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eWritten in accessible language with rigorous evidence, \u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Tourism Charade\u003c\/i\u003e refuses to normalize the gap between tourism marketing promises and governance realities. It asks uncomfortable questions about where money goes, who benefits, why things fail, and why consequences never follow-then provides roadmap for citizen-led accountability demanding better.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eThe problems are documented. The patterns are clear. The time for looking away is over.\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eCategories: \u003c\/b\u003e Political Science \/ Public Policy, Asian Studies \/ India, Business Economics \/ Development, Social Science \/ Indigenous Studies, Travel \/ Essays \u0026amp; Travelogues\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Independently Published","offers":[{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":47593023373463,"sku":"9798279157662","price":2170.0,"currency_code":"INR","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0666\/3471\/1191\/files\/9798279157662.webp?v=1774980347","url":"https:\/\/atlanticbooks.com\/products\/the-meghalaya-tourism-paradox-from-policy-to-paperwork-tourism-power-and-the-meghalaya-accountability-gap-9798279157662","provider":"Atlantic Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}