Lok Sabha Question No. 2259 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-01-01
Subject: Inclusion of Places in Buddha and Gandhi Circuit
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: SATISH CHANDRA DUBEY, JAGDAMBIKA PAL, SHASHI THAROOR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.†2259

## LOK SABHA ANSWERED ON 01.01.2018

## INCLUSION OF PLACES IN BUDDHA AND GANDHI CIRCUIT

†2259. SHRI SATISH CHANDRA DUBEY:

SHRI JAGDAMBIKA PAL: DR. SHASHI THAROOR:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  taken  any  decision  to  include several  tourist  places  of  Bihar  including  Kapilvastu  in  the Buddhist and Gandhi circuit plans;
- (b) if so, the details thereof and the status of the Buddhist Circuit along  with  the  steps  taken  by  the  Government  to  develop Buddhist Circuit;
- (c) whether  India-Sri  Lanka  Joint  Working  Group  has  decided  to establish Ramayana Trail in Sri Lanka and the Buddhist Circuit in South Asia and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken by the Government to establish Ramayana trail in India also;
- (d) whether the Government has taken any measures to disseminate  information  about  the  Buddhist  Circuits  in  other countries, especially the ones with substantial Buddhist populations such as Thailand, Myanmar, Bhutan and Sri Lanka; and
- (e) if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) (SHRI K. J. ALPHONS)

(a) to (b): Ministry  of  Tourism  has  launched  Swadesh  Darshan Scheme  in  2014-15  for  integrated  development  of  Theme-Based Tourist Circuits in the country including Bihar. Under the Scheme, 15  thematic  circuits  have  been  identified  for  development  namely North-East Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Desert Circuit,  Tribal  Circuit,  Eco  Circuit,  Wildlife  Circuit,  Rural  Circuit,

Heritage Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Tirthankar Circuit and Sufi Circuit.

Ministry has sanctioned  projects for the development  of Buddhist  Circuits  in  Kapilvastu,  Uttar  Pradesh  and  Bihar  and  for sites associated with Mahatma Gandhi in Bihar under the Scheme. The details of same are as under:

(Rs. in crore)

|   Sl. No. | State         | Circuit/ Sanction Year     | Project                                                                                            |   Amt. Sanctioned |
|-----------|---------------|----------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------------------|
|         1 | Bihar         | Buddhist Circuit (2016-17) | Construction of Conevention Centre adjacent to Maya Sarovar on the western side at Bodhgaya, Bihar |             98.73 |
|         2 | Bihar         | Rural Circuit (2017-18)    | Development of Rural Circuit: Bhitiharwa- Chandrahia- Turkaulia in Bihar                           |             44.65 |
|         3 | Uttar Pradesh | Buddhist Circuit (2016-17) | Development of Buddhist Circuit: Srawasti- Kushinagar-Kapilvastu in Uttar Pradesh.                 |             99.97 |

All the above projects are under implementation.

(c): The  2 nd   meeting  of  the  Joint  Working  Group  on  Tourism Cooperation between India and Sri Lanka was held on 23.06.2016 in Colombo. In the meeting, both sides agreed to promote Ramayana Trail and Buddhist Circuits in each other's country by inviting Tour Operators, Travel Agents, Media and Journalists.

(d) to (e): The Ministry undertakes several promotional activities in the domestic and international markets for promotion of the varied tourism products and destinations of the country including Buddhist Circuits. The Ministry produces publicity material and collaterals in English and foreign languages for domestic and international markets;  media  campaigns  in  the  print  and  electronic  media  are undertaken in the domestic and international markets; familiarisation  tours  for  trade,  media  and  opinion  makers  are undertaken from overseas to Buddhist Sites in the country under the Hospitality Scheme.

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