Lok Sabha Question No. 3258 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-12-16
Subject: Ramayana Circuit
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: Dr. Alok Kumar Suman

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3258 ANSWERED ON 16.12.2024

## RAMAYANA CIRCUIT

## 3258.  DR. ALOK KUMAR SUMAN:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any tourism initiative named as the Ramayana Circuit;
- (b)
- if so, the details of the cities being included thereof;
- (c) the  details  of  States  and  UTs  that  are  included  in  the  said
- initiative;
- (d) whether the State of Bihar has also been the core component of the said initiative, if so, the details thereof; and
- (e) whether the Government proposes to include the Thawe Peeth of District  Gopalganj  of  Bihar  in  the  Ramayana  Circuit,  if  so,  the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF TOURISM (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) to (e): The  Ministry  of  Tourism  through  its  ongoing  central  sector schemes  of  'Swadesh  Darshan  (SD)'  and  ' Pilgrimage  Rejuvenation  and Spiritual,  Heritage  Augmentation  Drive  (PRASHAD) ' complements  the efforts  of  tourism  infrastructure  development  by  extending  financial assistance to the State Governments (SGs)/UT Administrations (UTs) for development of tourism facilities/amenities. This assistance is provided to the SGs/UTs in line with the scheme guidelines, availability of funds etc. Ministry of Tourism as part of Swadesh Darshan scheme sanctioned 76 projects in the country under identified thematic circuits including 2 projects in Ramayana Circuit theme, as per the details given below:-

(Amount in ₹ crore)

|   Sl. No. | State         | Theme/Year of Sanction   | Project Name                               |   Amount Sanctioned |
|-----------|---------------|--------------------------|--------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|         1 | Uttar Pradesh | Ramayana Circuit 2016-17 | Development of Chitrakoot and Shringverpur |               69.45 |
|         2 | Uttar Pradesh | Ramayana Circuit 2017-18 | Development of Ayodhya                     |              127.21 |

Ministry of Tourism under SD sanctioned 5 projects in Bihar, as per the details given below:-

(Amount in ₹ crore)

|   Sl. No. | Theme/ Year of Sanction     | Project Name                                                                   |   Amount Sanctioned |
|-----------|-----------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|
|         1 | Tirthankar Circuit/ 2016-17 | Development of Vaishali- Arrah- Masad- Patna- Rajgir- Pawapuri- Champapuri     |               33.96 |
|         2 | Spiritual Circuit/ 2016-17  | Development of Kanwaria Route: Sultanganj - Dharmshala- Deoghar                |               44.76 |
|         3 | Buddhist Circuit/ 2016-17   | Development of Buddhist circuit- Construction of Convention Centre at Bodhgaya |               95.18 |
|         4 | Rural Circuit 2017-18       | Development of Bhitiharwa- Chandrahia- Turkaulia                               |               44.27 |
|         5 | Spiritual Circuit 2017-18   | Development of Mandar Hill & Ang Pradesh                                       |               44.55 |

Under  PRASHAD  scheme,  Ministry  has  sanctioned  02  Projects  in  the State of Bihar as per the details given below:-

(Amount in ₹ Crore)

|   Sl. No. | Year of Sanction                        | Project Name Amount Sanctioned   |
|-----------|-----------------------------------------|----------------------------------|
|         1 | 2015-16 Development at Patna            | Sahib 29.62                      |
|         2 | 2014-15 Development of basic facilities | at 3.63                          |

The  Ministry  has  recently  revamped  the  Swadesh  Darshan  Scheme  as Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with the objective to develop sustainable and responsible tourism destinations and has identified 57 destinations in the country for development under SD 2.0 including 'Gaya' & 'Nalanda'

in  Bihar.  Further  under  'Challenge  Based  Destination  Development' (CBDD),  a  sub-scheme  under  Swadesh  Darshan  2.0,  the  Ministry  has identified  42  destinations  in  the  country  for  development  including 'Bhagalpur'  and  'Saran  District  (Sonepur  Fair)'  in culture  &  heritage category in Bihar.

As of now, there is no proposal in prescribed format to include Thawe Peeth of District Gopalganj of Bihar for inclusion in Ramayana Circuit.

In addition to the above initiatives, Government of India on receipt of the project  proposals from  the  State  Governments  under  'Scheme  for Special  Assistance  to  States  for  Capital  Investment  202425  (SASCI)', has  recently  sanctioned  40  tourism  related  projects  in  the  country including 2 projects in Bihar as per details given below:

|   S. No. | Project Name                              |   Cost (Amount in ₹ Crore) | Sanction Year   |
|----------|-------------------------------------------|----------------------------|-----------------|
|        1 | Development of Matsyagandha Lake, Saharsa |                      97.61 | 2024-25         |
|        2 | Karamchat Eco-Tourism and Adventure Hub   |                      49.51 | 2024-25         |

*********