Chandigarh, June 28 (IANS) To support growth of tourism sector in the state, the Haryana government on Tuesday declared tourism as an industry for land use purpose.

The decision to this effect was taken in-principle in a meeting of the state cabinet, chaired by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar here on Tuesday.

The move has been made to attract big investment in tourism projects in Haryana.

"The components that have been classified as land use under industry include all tourism projects and activities with the exception of activities like hotels, tourist resorts, eat streets or outdoor dining areas or promenades or food courts or restaurants and commercial components within recreational or commercial activities," a Haryana government spokesman said here.

"These provisions would be applicable to mega projects only involving investment of Rs 100 crore or above or employing more than 500 people. These would be applicable with prospective effect to all new as well as expansion projects involving an investment of Rs 50 crore," he added.

Haryana was the pioneer state in highway tourism in the 1970s and 1980s with government-run and private outlets along highways running successfully. However, in the absence of further impetus, the state has lagged behind on the tourism front despite having a rich historical background and being the land of the Mahabharata battle.