Lok Sabha Question No. 2529 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-08-04
Subject: Development of Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary under Eco-Tourism
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: Shri Ram Shiromani Verma

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †2529 ANSWERED ON 04.08.2025

## DEVELOPMENT OF SUHELWA WILDLIFE

## SANCTUARY UNDER ECO-TOURISM

## †2529. SHRI RAM SHIROMANI VERMA:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  has  any  plan  to  develop  Suhelwa  Wildlife Sanctuary,  located  in  Balrampur  and  Shravasti  districts  of  Uttar Pradesh  along  the  Nepal  border,  as  an  eco-tourism  destination  in Eco-tourism circuit or Buddhist Circuit;
- (b) whether the Government proposes to develop these districts under "Swadesh  Darshan  Yojana",  "Prasad  Yojana",  or  any  other  rural  or eco-tourism project;
- (c) if so, the details thereof along with funds allocated therefor;
- (d) whether  the  Government  proposes  to  provide  nature  trails,  wildlife observation  centres,  training  for  local  guides  and  eco-lodges,  ecocafe or camping facilities in the area with coordination of the Central and State Governments;
- (e) whether any integrated programme has been initiated to provide selfemployment  and  training  to  local  residents,  particularly forestdwelling tribal communities for the development of this area;
- (f) if so, the latest progress regarding these efforts, expenditure details and the number of people benefited; and
- (g) whether  local  Gram  Panchayats  have  been  roped  in  for  smooth operations  of  tourism  services  and  if  so,  the  details  of  the  action taken  during  the  last  three  years  along  with  the  details  of  the proposed schemes thereof?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF TOURISM (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) to (g): Development and promotion of tourist destinations and tourism products  is  primarily  undertaken  by  the  respective  State  Government/ Union  Territory  (UT)  Administration.  However,  the  Ministry  of  Tourism through its  central  sector  schemes  of  'Swadesh  Darshan  (SD)',  Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0), 'Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD)' a subscheme of Swadesh Darshan, 'Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage  Augmentation  Drive  (PRASHAD)'  and  'Assistance  to  Central Agencies (ACA) for Tourism Infrastructure Development' schemes complements the efforts of tourism infrastructure development by extending financial assistance to the State Governments/UT Administrations/ Central Agencies; subject to  adherence  to  scheme guidelines,  submission  of  Detailed  Project  Reports  (DPRs),  availability  of funds,  inter-se  priority  etc.  In  addition,  Government  of  India  under  its initiative for 'Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI)' has  also  provided  financial  assistance  to  the  States  for  development  of tourism projects. The projects sanctioned under above mentioned scheme cover multiple aspects including eco-tourism, wildlife etc.

The Ministry of Tourism under the above-mentioned schemes encourages  adoption  of  principles  of  sustainable  tourism,  community participation and local consultations. Further, operation and management of the sanctioned projects is undertaken by the concerned State Government. A variety of works such as development of nature trails, log huts, cafeteria, interpretation centres, shelters, parking, last mile connectivity etc. are approved under sanctioned projects depending on its nature. Details of sanctioned  projects under the SD,  SD2.0,  CBDD, PRASHAD,  ACA  and  SASCI  schemes  in  the  State  of  Uttar  Pradesh  is annexed.

There is no project for the development of Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary, located in Balrampur and Shravasti districts of Uttar Pradesh presently enlisted for consideration by the Ministry of Tourism under above mentioned schemes.

The Ministry of Tourism with the aim to promote tourism in tribal areas, recently issued guidelines for 'Development of Homestays in Tribal Areas' along with template for formulation of proposal by State Governments and UT Administrations.

Ministry  of  Tourism,  Government  of  India  has  entrusted  Incredible India  Tourist  Facilitator  Certification  (IITFC)  to  increase  the  number  of Trained  Tourist  Facilitators  and  Guides  to  cater  to  the  need  of  Indian Tourism Industry for optimum use of Incredible Indian Tourism environment. The programme commenced in 2020 and the details of the training extended in this regard is as under:

| Course Enrolment Data   | Course Enrolment Data   | Passout/ OCC Downloaded Data   | Passout/ OCC Downloaded Data              |
|-------------------------|-------------------------|--------------------------------|-------------------------------------------|
| Course                  | Enrolments              | Nos.                           | Remarks                                   |
| Basic (IITFC)           | 14259                   | 7014                           | NA                                        |
| Refresher               | 2770                    | 2652                           | Candidates downloaded the OCC certificate |
| IITG-Advance (Heritage) | 2084                    | 374                            | In two phases                             |
| Linguistic              | -                       | 206                            | NA                                        |

The Ministry of Tourism also launched a national responsible tourism initiative by the name of 'Paryatan Mitra' and 'Paryatan Didi' under which around 3994 candidates have been trained till March, 2025.

Ministry  of  Environment,  Forest  and  Climate  Change  (MoEFCC)  has informed that it has issued guidelines on sustainable eco-tourism in forest and  wildlife  areas  2021.  The  Ministry  provides  financial  assistance  to State/UTs under the Centrally Sponsored Scheme 'Development of Wildlife Habitats' for conservation and management of Wildlife and development of its  habitats,  as  per  the  Annual  Plan  of  operations  (APOs)  received  from States/UTs,  including  state  of  Uttar  Pradesh.  The  activities  supported under the scheme includes eco-tourism. No funds have been allocated to the Suhelwa Wildlife Sanctuary for eco-tourism activity.

Details  of  funds  released  to  Suhelwa  Wildlife  Sanctuary  under  the Scheme during the last three years is as below:

| Year      |   Funds released (₹ in lakhs) |
|-----------|-------------------------------|
| 2022-2023 |                         27.94 |
| 2023-2024 |                         34.85 |
| 2024-2025 |                         44.08 |

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ANNEXURE

STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (g) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. †2529 ANSWERED ON 04.08.2025 REGARDING DEVELOPMENT  OF  SUHELWA  WILDLIFE  SANCTUARY  UNDER  ECOTOURISM RAISED BY SHRI RAM SHIROMANI VERMA

List of projects sanctioned in the State of Uttar Pradesh under Ministry of Tourism Schemes:-

| S. No.          | Name of the Project                                                                                                                                                                      | Circuit/ Sanction Year    | Sanctioned Amount (₹ in Crore)   |
|-----------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------|----------------------------------|
| Swadesh Darshan | Swadesh Darshan                                                                                                                                                                          | Swadesh Darshan           | Swadesh Darshan                  |
| 1               | Development of Srawasti, Kushinagar, & Kapilwastu                                                                                                                                        | Buddhist Circuit 2016-17  | 87.89                            |
| 2               | Development of Chitrakoot and Shringverpur                                                                                                                                               | Ramayana Circuit 2016-17  | 69.45                            |
| 3               | Development of Ahar-Aligarh-Kasganj-Sarosi (Unnao)-Pratapgarh- Kausambi-Mirzapur- Gorakhpur-Domariyaganj-Basti-Barabanki- Azamgarh-Kairana- Baghpat- Shahjahanpur                        | Spiritual Circuit 2016-17 | 71.91                            |
| 4               | Development of Bijnor- Meerut- Kanpur- Kanpur Dehat- Banda- Ghazipur- Salempur- Ghosi- Balia- Ambedkar Nagar- Aligarh- Fatehpur- Deoria- Mahoba- Sonbhadra- Chandauli- Mishrikh- Bhadohi | Spiritual Circuit 2016-17 | 67.51                            |
| 5               | Development of Kalinjar Fort (Banda)- MagharDham (SantKabir Nagar)- ChauriChaura, Shaheed Sthal (Fatehpur)- MahuarshaheedSthal (Ghosi)- Shaheed Smarak (Meerut)                          | Heritage Circuit 2016-17  | 36.65                            |
| 6               | Development of Ayodhya                                                                                                                                                                   | Ramayana Circuit 2017-18  | 127.21                           |
| 7               | Development of Jewar-Dadri-Sikandrabad- Noida-Khurja-Banda                                                                                                                               | Spiritual Circuit 2018-19 | 12.03                            |
| 8               | Development of Gorakhnath Temple (Gorakhpur), Devipattan Temple (Balrampur)                                                                                                              | Spiritual Circuit         | 18.30                            |

| and Vatvashni Temple (Domariyagunj) 2018-19 PRASHAD Scheme   | and Vatvashni Temple (Domariyagunj) 2018-19 PRASHAD Scheme                                                                                                    | and Vatvashni Temple (Domariyagunj) 2018-19 PRASHAD Scheme   | and Vatvashni Temple (Domariyagunj) 2018-19 PRASHAD Scheme   |
|--------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------|
| 1                                                            | Development of Varanasi - Phase - I                                                                                                                           | 2015-16                                                      | 18.73                                                        |
| 2                                                            | Development of Mathura-Vrindavan as Mega Tourist Circuit (Ph-II)                                                                                              | 2014-15                                                      | 10.98                                                        |
| 3                                                            | Development of River Cruise Tourism at Varanasi                                                                                                               | 2017-18                                                      | 9.02                                                         |
| 4                                                            | Construction of Tourist Facilitation Centre at Vrindavan                                                                                                      | 2014-15                                                      | 9.36                                                         |
| 5                                                            | Development of Varanasi - Phase II                                                                                                                            | 2017-18                                                      | 44.60                                                        |
| 6                                                            | Development of Infrastructure facilities at Govardhan                                                                                                         | 2018-19                                                      | 37.59                                                        |
| Swadesh Darshan 2.0                                          | Swadesh Darshan 2.0                                                                                                                                           | Swadesh Darshan 2.0                                          | Swadesh Darshan 2.0                                          |
| 1                                                            | 'Azad Park and Dekho Prayagraj Trail Exp'                                                                                                                     | 2023-24                                                      | 14.52                                                        |
| 2                                                            | Vedic- wellness Experience at Naimisaranya''                                                                                                                  | 2023-24                                                      | 17.80                                                        |
| CBDD                                                         | CBDD                                                                                                                                                          | CBDD                                                         | CBDD                                                         |
| 1                                                            | Development of Cultural Landscape at Mahoba                                                                                                                   | 2024-25                                                      | 24.98                                                        |
| Assistance to Central Agencies                               | Assistance to Central Agencies                                                                                                                                | Assistance to Central Agencies                               | Assistance to Central Agencies                               |
| 1                                                            | Joint Development of Agra Cantt. Railway Station                                                                                                              | 2013-14                                                      | 5.05                                                         |
| 2                                                            | Joint Development of Rai-Bareilly Railway Station                                                                                                             | 2013-14                                                      | 4.44                                                         |
| 3                                                            | Illumination of monuments in Varanasi/Sarnath (Dhamekh Stupa in SarnathChaukhandi Stupa in Sarnath, Tomb of Lalkan in Sarnath and Man Mahal in Banaras)       | 2014-15                                                      | 5.12                                                         |
| 4                                                            | Illumination of three monuments in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh- 1. Dashashwamedh Ghat to Darbanga Ghat (stretch of 300 m) 2. Tulsi Manas Mandir 3. Sarnath Museum | 2017-18                                                      | 2.93                                                         |
| Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI)  | Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI)                                                                                                   | Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI)  | Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI)  |
| 1                                                            | Development of Bateshwar in District-Agra                                                                                                                     | 2024-25                                                      | 74.05                                                        |
| 2                                                            | Integrated Buddhist Tourism Development in Shrawasti                                                                                                          | 2024-25                                                      | 80.24                                                        |

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