Lok Sabha Question No. 153 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2016-07-18
Subject: Development of Buddhist Sites
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: VINOD KUMAR SONKAR

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.†153 ANSWERED ON 18.07.2016

## DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHIST SITES

## †153. SHRI VINOD KUMAR SONKAR:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) whether any scheme has been formulated by the Government to  develop  the  underdeveloped  Buddhist  pilgrimage  sites  for the purpose of tourism in various parts of the country;
- (b) if so, the details of such sites in various States of the country including Uttar Pradesh;
- (c) whether the Government has formulated any policy to publicise  the  cultural,  heritage  and  tourist  places  of  the country at international level;
- (d) if  so,  the  achievements  made  so  far  in  terms  of  increase  in number of foreign tourists; and
- (e) the State-wise funds allocated and expenditure incurred by the State Governments for the conservation and beautification of cultural and tourist places particularly Buddhist tourist places during the last two years and the current year?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)

## (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

- (a): The  Ministry  of  Tourism  has  launched  the  Swadesh  Darshan scheme  in  2014-15  for  integrated  development  of  these  based tourist circuits in the country. Buddhist Circuit is one of the thirteen thematic circuits identified for development under the scheme.
- (b):    Project proposal relating to Buddhist sites in any part of the country including in the State of Uttar Pradesh are eligible for grant of  Central  Financial  Assistance  under  Buddhist  Circuit  theme  of Swadesh Darshan Scheme.

(c):    The  Ministry  of  Tourism,  as  part  of  its  on-going  activities, annually releases print, electronic, online and outdoor  media campaigns  in  the  international  and  domestic  markets,  under  the Incredible India brand line, to promote  various tourism destinations and  products  of  the  country.  In  addition,  a  series  of  promotional activities are undertaken in important and potential tourist generating  markets  overseas  through  the  India  tourism  Offices abroad with the objective of showcasing India's tourism potential. These  promotional activities include participation in travel fairs and exhibitions; organizing road shows, know India seminars & workshops;  organizing  and  supporting  Indian  food  and  cultural festivals;  publication  of  brochures;  offering  joint  advertising  and brochure  support  and  inviting  media  personalities,  tour  operators and  opinion  makers  to  visit  the  country  under  the  Hospitality Programmes of the Ministry.

(d): The number of  Foreign  Tourist  Arrivals  in  India  during  2013, 2014  and  2015  were  6.97  million (growth  of  5.9%), 7.68  million (growth of 10.2%) and 8.03 million (growth of 4.5%), respectively. and destinations during the last two years and the current years is at

(e): List of projects sanctioned for the tourist circuits Annexure.

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ANNEXURE

STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PART (e)  OF  LOK  SABHA  UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.†153 ANSWERED ON 18.07.2016 REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF BUDDHIST SITES.

The State/UT-wise number of projects sanctioned, amount utilised and status under PIDDC Scheme during 2014-15

2014-15

(Rs. in lakh)

| Sl. No.   | Name of the State   |   No. of Project | Amt. Sanctioned   | Amt. Utilized   |   Status Ongoing Completed |   Status Ongoing Completed |
|-----------|---------------------|------------------|-------------------|-----------------|----------------------------|----------------------------|
| 1         | Andhra Pradesh      |                6 | 1,862.680         | 0               |                          6 |                          0 |
| 2         | Arunachal Pradesh   |                5 | 3,631.080         | 0               |                          5 |                          0 |
| 3         | Assam               |                3 | 3,588.450         | 0               |                          3 |                          0 |
| 4         | Bihar               |                2 | 637.060           | 0               |                          2 |                          0 |
| 5         | Chhattishgarh       |                2 | 940.130           | 0               |                          2 |                          0 |
| 6         | Haryana             |                0 | 61.660            | 0               |                          0 |                          0 |
| 7         | Jammu & Kashmir     |                1 | 732.500           | 0               |                          1 |                          0 |
| 8         | Karnataka           |                1 | 5,124.790         | 0               |                          1 |                          0 |
| 9         | Madhya Pradesh      |                3 | 3,657.540         | 60.000          |                          3 |                          0 |
| 10        | Manipur             |                5 | 14,877.210        | 0               |                          5 |                          0 |
| 11        | Mizoram             |                1 | 4,829.690         | 241.485         |                          1 |                          0 |
| 12        | Nagaland            |                9 | 6,074.300         | 1,460.520       |                          9 |                          0 |
| 13        | Odisha              |                2 | 1,488.340         | 0               |                          2 |                          0 |
| 14        | Punjab              |                1 | 4,796.980         | 0               |                          1 |                          0 |
| 15        | Puducherry          |                0 | 97.380            | 0               |                          0 |                          0 |
| 16        | Rajashthan          |                0 | 109.930           | 0               |                          0 |                          0 |
| 17        | Sikkim              |                8 | 5,337.550         | 1,177.550       |                          8 |                          0 |
| 18        | Telangana           |                1 | 544.600           | 0               |                          1 |                          0 |
|           | Total               |               50 | 58,391.87         | 2939.555        |                         50 |                          0 |

## Projects sanctioned under Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD Schemes. 2014-15

## Swadesh Darshan Scheme

(Rs. in Crore)

| Sl. No.   | Name of the Circuit       | State             | Name of Project                                                                                      |   Amount Sanctioned |   Amount Released |
|-----------|---------------------------|-------------------|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
| 1.        | Coastal Circuit           | Andhra Pradesh    | Development of Kakinada Hope Island Konaseema as World class coastal & Eco Tourism Circuit in Andhra |               69.83 |             13.96 |
| 2.        | North- East India Circuit | Arunachal Pradesh | Bhalukpong- Bomdila-Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh                                                      |               49.77 |             10    |
| 3.        | Buddhist Circuit          | Bihar             | Cultural Centre, Bodhgaya                                                                            |               33.17 |              6.63 |
|           |                           |                   | Total                                                                                                |              152.77 |             30.59 |

PRASAD Scheme

(Rs. in Crore)

| Sl. No.   | Name of the State & project                                                                                          | Amount Sanctioned   | Amount Released   |
|-----------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
|           | BIHAR                                                                                                                |                     |                   |
| 1.        | Development of basic facilities at Vishnupad temple, Gaya, Bihar                                                     | 4.29                | 2.14              |
|           | UTTAR PRADESH                                                                                                        |                     |                   |
| 2.        | Development of Mathura-Vrindavan as Mega Tourist Circuit (Ph-II)                                                     | 14.93               | 2.99              |
| 3.        | Construction of Tourist Facilitation Centre at Vrindavan, Distt. Mathura                                             | 9.36                | 1.76              |
|           | ODISHA                                                                                                               |                     |                   |
| 4.        | Infrastructure Development at Puri, Shree Jagannath Dham- Ramachandi- Prachi River front at Deuli under Mega Circuit | 50.00               | 10.00             |
|           | Total                                                                                                                |                     |                   |
|           |                                                                                                                      | 78.58               | 16.89             |

2015-16 Swadesh Darshan Scheme

(Rs. in Crore)

|   Sl. No. | Name of Theme             | State       | Name of Project                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |   Amount Sanctioned |   Amount Released |
|-----------|---------------------------|-------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
|         1 | North- East India Circuit | Manipur     | Development of Tourist Circuit in Manipur: Imphal- Moirang- Khongjom-Moreh                                                                                                                                                                               |               89.66 |             17.93 |
|         2 | North- East India Circuit | Sikkim      | Development of Tourist Circuit linking - Rangpo (entry) - Rorathang - Aritar - Phadamchen - Nathang - Sherathang - Tsongmo - Gangtok - Phodong - Mangan - Lachung - Yumthang - Lachen - Thangu - Gurudongmer - Mangan - Gangtok - Tumin Lingee - Singtam |               98.05 |             19.61 |
|         3 | Eco Circuit               | Uttarakhand | Integrated Development of Eco-Tourism, Adventure Sports, Associated Tourism related Infrastructure for Development of Tehri Lake &                                                                                                                       |               80.37 |             16.07 |

|    |                           |                   | Surroundings as New Destination- District Tehri, Uttarakhand.                                          |       |       |
|----|---------------------------|-------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------|-------|
|  4 | Coastal Circuit           | Andhra Pradesh    | Development of Coastal Tourism Circuit in Sri Potti Sriramalu Nellore in Andhra Pradesh                | 60.38 | 12.08 |
|  5 | North- East India Circuit | Arunachal Pradesh | Integrated Development of Adventure Tourism in Arunachal Pradesh                                       | 97.14 | 19.43 |
|  6 | Eco Circuit               | Kerala            | Gavi-Patha- Namthitta- Vagamon- Thekkady                                                               | 99.22 | 19.84 |
|  7 | Desert Circuit            | Rajasthan         | Development of Sambhar Lake Town and Other Destinations under Desert Circuit in Swadesh Darshan Scheme | 63.96 | 12.79 |
|  8 | Tribal Circuit            | Nagaland          | Development of Tribal Circuit Peren -Kohima- Wokha, Nagaland                                           | 97.36 | 19.47 |
|  9 | Eco Circuit               | Telangana         | Integrated Development of Eco Tourism Circuit in Mahaboobnagar district, Telangana.                    | 91.62 | 18.32 |
| 10 | Wildlife Circuit          | Madhya Pradesh    | Development of Wildlife Circuit at                                                                     | 92.22 | 18.44 |

<!-- image -->

|    |                           |             | Panna - Mukundpur- Sanjay-Dubri- Bandhavgarh- Kanha-Mukki- Pench in Madhya Pradesh                                                                        |       |       |
|----|---------------------------|-------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-------|-------|
| 11 | Wildlife Circuit          | Assam       | Wildlife Circuit of Assam                                                                                                                                 | 95.67 | 19.13 |
| 12 | North- East India Circuit | Tripura     | Development of North East Circuit : Agartala - Sipahijala - Melaghar - Udaipur - Amarpur - Tirthamukh - Mandirghat - Dumboor- NarikelKunja - Gandachara - | 99.59 | 19.92 |
| 13 | Eco Circuit               | Mizoram     | Integrated Development of New Eco- Tourism at Thenzawl & South Zote, District Serchhip and Reike, Mizoram                                                 | 94.91 | 18.98 |
| 14 | Coastal Circuit           | West Bengal | Development of Beach Circuit - Udaipur - Digha - Shankarpur - Tajpur - Mandarmani - Fraserganj - Bakkhlai -Henry Island                                   | 85.39 | 17.08 |

| 15.   | Coastal Circuit   | Puducherry   | Development of Union Territory of Puducherry as Tourist Circuit under 'Swadesh Darshan' Scheme                                                                                                          |   85.28 |   17.06 |
|-------|-------------------|--------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------|---------|
| 16.   | Tribal Circuit    | Chhattisgarh | Development of Tribal Tourism Circuit Jashpur- Kunkuri-Mainpat- Ambikapur- Maheshpur- ratanpur-Kurdar- Sarodadadar- Gangrel- Kondagaon- Nathyanawagaon -Jagdalpur- Chitrakoot- Tirthgarh in Chattisgarh |   99.94 |   19.99 |
| 17.   | Coastal Circuit   | Maharashtra  | Development of Sindhudurg Coastal Circuit in Maharashtra                                                                                                                                                |   82.17 |   12.79 |
|       |                   |              | Total                                                                                                                                                                                                   | 1512.93 |  298.93 |

## PRASAD Scheme

(Rs. in Crore)

| Sl. No.   | Name of the State & project                                                             | Amount Sanctioned   | Amount Released   |
|-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
|           | PUNJAB                                                                                  |                     |                   |
| 1.        | Development of Karuna Sagar Valmiki Sthal at Amritsar                                   | 6.45                | 1.29              |
|           | RAJASTHAN                                                                               |                     |                   |
| 2.        | Integrated Development of Pushkar/Ajmer                                                 | 40.44               | 8.09              |
|           | ANDHRA PRADESH                                                                          |                     |                   |
| 3.        | Development of Amaravati Town, Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh as Tourist Destination | 28.36               | 5.67              |

|    | ASSAM                                                                             |        |       |
|----|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------|-------|
| 4. | Development of Kamakhya Temple and Pilgrimage Destination in and around Guwahati. | 33.98  | 6.80  |
|    | BIHAR                                                                             |        |       |
| 5. | Development of Patna Sahib                                                        | 41.54  | 8.31  |
|    | UTTAR PRADESH                                                                     |        |       |
| 6. | Development of Varanasi                                                           | 20.40  | 4.08  |
|    | UTTARAKHAND                                                                       |        |       |
| 7. | Developmemt of Kedarnath                                                          | 34.78  | 4.47  |
|    | Total                                                                             | 205.95 | 38.71 |

## 2016-17

## Swadesh Darshan Scheme

## (Rs. in Crore)

|   Sl. No. | Name of Theme     | State           | Name of Project                                                                                                                               |   Amount Sanctioned |   Amount Released |
|-----------|-------------------|-----------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------------------|-------------------|
|         1 | Coastal Circuit   | Goa             | Development of Coastal Circuit (Sinquerim0Bag a-Anjuna- Vagator-Morjim- Keri-Aguada Fort and Aguada Jail) in Goa under Swadesh Darshan Scheme |               99.99 |             20    |
|         2 | Himalayan Circuit | Jammu & Kashmir | Integrated Development of Tourism Infrastructure Projects in the State of Jammu and Kashmir under Himalayan Circuit of Swadesh Darshan Scheme |               82.97 |             16.59 |
|         3 | Tribal Circuit    | Telangana       | Integrated Development of Mulugu-                                                                                                             |               84.4  |             16.88 |

|    |                          |           | Laknavaram- Tadavi- Damaravi-Mallur- Bogatha waterfalls as Tribal Circuit in Telangana under Swadesh Darshan Scheme   |        |       |
|----|--------------------------|-----------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|--------|-------|
| 4. | North East India Circuit | Meghalaya | Development of Umiam Lake- Ulum Sohpetbneng- Mawdiangdiang under North East Circuit of Swadesh Darshan Scheme         |  99.13 | 19.83 |
|    |                          |           | Total                                                                                                                 | 366.49 | 73.3  |

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