Lok Sabha Question No. 104 (STARRED), answered on 2015-12-07
Subject: Spritual/Religious Tourism
Ministry: TOURISM
Asked by: HARISH DWIVEDI, BHAIRON PRASAD MISHRA

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.†*104 ANSWERED ON 07.12.2015

## SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS TOURISM

- †*104.SHRI HARISH CHANDRA ALIAS HARISH DWIVEDI: SHRI BHAIRON PRASAD MISHRA:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has any proposal to develop and beautify 'Spiritual/Religious Tourism' at holy places in the country  including  Ayodhya  and  Chitrakoot,  under  the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive scheme;
- (b) if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  action  taken  by  the Government  in  this  regard  along  with  the  details  of religious sites identified for development under the aegis of the scheme, State/UT-wise including religious places of Uttar Pradesh;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  sanctioned  funds  for  the promotion of religious tourism during the last three years and the current year; and
- (d) if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  funds  allocated and expenditure incurred thereon, State/UT-wise?

## ANSWER

MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) (DR. MAHESH SHARMA)

- (a)  to (d):  A Statement is laid on the Table of the Sabha.

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STATEMENT  IN  REPLY  TO  LOK  SABHA  STARRED  QUESTION  NO.+*104 ANSWERED ON 07.12.2015 REGARDING SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS TOURISM.

(a)  to  (d):          Ministry  of  Tourism  has  launched  a  new  Plan  Scheme 'National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive' (PRASAD)  in the year 2014-15  for development and beautification of  pilgrimage sites of the country.

State-wise list of 13 pilgrimage sites so far identified for development and beautification under the scheme is given below:

|   Sl. No. | Name of the Site   | Name of the State   |
|-----------|--------------------|---------------------|
|         1 | Amaravati          | Andhra Pradesh      |
|         2 | Kamakhya           | Assam               |
|         3 | Gaya               | Bihar               |
|         4 | Patna              | -do-                |
|         5 | Dwarka             | Gujarat             |
|         6 | Puri               | Odisha              |
|         7 | Amritsar           | Punjab              |
|         8 | Ajmer              | Rajasthan           |
|         9 | Kanchipuram        | Tamil Nadu          |
|        10 | Vellankanni        | -do-                |
|        11 | Kedarnath          | Uttarakhand         |
|        12 | Mathura            | Uttar Pradesh       |
|        13 | Varanasi           | -do-                |

Ministry  of  Tourism  has  launched  another  Plan  Scheme  'Swadesh Darshan' in 2014-15 for integrated development of theme based circuits. Under  Swadesh  Darshan  twelve  thematic  circuits  have  been  identified, including  four  religious/spiritual  thematic  circuits  i.e.  Buddhist  Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Spiritual Circuit and Ramayana Circuit.

Details of funds sanctioned for development and promotion of tourism including religious tourism by the Ministry in the last three years is given at  Annexure  I.  Details  of  funds  sanctioned  under  PRASAD  Scheme  and Swadesh Darshan Scheme in 2014-15 and 2015-16 (as on 02.12.2015)  are given at Annexures II and III respectively.

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ANNEXURE-I

STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PARTS (c) AND (d) OF LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTIOIN NO.+*104 ANSWERED ON 07.12.2015 REGARDING SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS TOURISM.

2012-2013 (Rs. in lakh)

| Sl. No. Name of the State   |   No. of Projects |   Amount Sanctioned |
|-----------------------------|-------------------|---------------------|
| 1. Andhra Pradesh           |                 4 |             6278.73 |
| 2. Arunachal Pradesh        |                16 |             6612.5  |
| 3. Bihar                    |                 1 |              500    |
| 4. Delhi                    |                 2 |             2461.91 |
| 5. Goa                      |                 2 |               50    |
| 6. Gujarat                  |                 1 |              486.75 |
| 7. Himachal Pradesh         |                11 |             3029.88 |
| 8. Jammu and Kashmir        |                25 |            11260    |
| 9. Jharkhand                |                 2 |             4885.71 |
| 10. Kerala                  |                 6 |             7826.53 |
| 11. Maharashtra             |                 5 |             7914.79 |
| 12. Manipur                 |                 7 |             3595.62 |
| 13. Meghalaya               |                 1 |               17.94 |
| 14. Mizoram                 |                 3 |               49.15 |
| 15. Madhya Pradesh          |                20 |            20989.8  |
| 16. Nagaland                |                11 |             4556.66 |
| 17. Odisha                  |                 2 |               61.3  |
| 18. Punjab                  |                 2 |               50    |
| 19. Sikkim                  |                13 |             7020.18 |
| 20. Tamil Nadu              |                 2 |             2041.97 |
| 21. Telangana               |                 5 |             4191.34 |
| 22. Uttar Pradesh           |                12 |             3486.15 |
| 23. Uttarakhand             |                 2 |             1297.47 |
| 24. West Bengal             |                 3 |             4694.46 |
| Total                       |               158 |           103359    |

2013-2014 (Rs. in lakh)

| Sl. No.   | Name of the State                      | No. of Projects   | Amount Sanctioned   |
|-----------|----------------------------------------|-------------------|---------------------|
| 1.        | Andhra Pradesh                         | 14                | 4532.02             |
|           | Combined Projects for Andhra Pradesh & | 1                 | 4588.80             |
|           | Telangana                              |                   |                     |
| 2.        | Arunachal Pradesh                      | 11                | 7473.64             |

| 3.   | Bihar             |   14 |   11109.85 |
|------|-------------------|------|------------|
| 4.   | Delhi             |    2 |    5768.98 |
| 5.   | Haryana           |    8 |    1487.25 |
| 6.   | Himachal Pradesh  |    1 |    3371.52 |
| 7.   | Jammu and Kashmir |   15 |    7618.54 |
| 8.   | Jharkhand         |    1 |     500    |
| 9.   | Kerala            |   10 |    4065.63 |
| 10.  | Karnataka         |    8 |    3228.71 |
| 11.  | Maharashtra       |    6 |    6795.18 |
| 12.  | Manipur           |    8 |    7234.84 |
| 13.  | Meghalaya         |    3 |      46.9  |
| 14.  | Mizoram           |   10 |    4711.16 |
| 15.  | Madhya Pradesh    |    9 |   10021.3  |
| 16.  | Nagaland          |   11 |    5222.01 |
| 17.  | Odisha            |   12 |    6543.08 |
| 18.  | Puducherry        |    1 |    4848.16 |
| 19.  | Punjab            |    2 |    1038.86 |
| 20.  | Rajasthan         |   10 |    5174.71 |
| 21.  | Sikkim            |   14 |   10485    |
| 22.  | Telangana         |    8 |    3370.07 |
| 23.  | Uttar Pradesh     |   26 |   13071.3  |
| 24.  | Uttarakhand       |   29 |   21772.7  |
|      | Total             |  234 |  154080    |

2014-15 (Rs. in lakh)

|   Sl. No. | Name of the State   | No. of Projects   |   Amount sanctioned |
|-----------|---------------------|-------------------|---------------------|
|         1 | Andhra Pradesh      | 11                |             9515.53 |
|         2 | Arunachal Pradesh   | 8                 |             8455.35 |
|         3 | Assam 3             |                   |             3568.11 |
|         4 | Bihar               | 3                 |             4220.47 |
|         5 | Chhattisgarh 5      |                   |              990.13 |
|         6 | Daman & Diu 1       |                   |              775.54 |
|         7 | Goa                 | 1                 |              879.04 |
|         8 | Haryana             | 3                 |              121.66 |
|         9 | Jammu and Kashmir 2 |                   |              732.5  |
|        10 | Karnataka           | 1                 |             5000    |
|        11 | Manipur             | 7                 |            14752.5  |
|        12 | Mizoram             | 3                 |             4879.69 |
|        13 | Madhya Pradesh      | 5                 |             3690.54 |
|        14 | Nagaland            | 10                |             5980.2  |

| 15.   | Odisha 3        |   6488.34 |
|-------|-----------------|-----------|
| 16.   | Punjab 3        |   4831.98 |
| 17.   | Rajasthan 2     |    149.93 |
| 18.   | Sikkim 8        |   5200    |
| 19.   | Telangana 4     |    504.36 |
| 20.   | Uttar Pradesh 4 |   3368.05 |
| 21.   | Uttarakhand 1   |    391.69 |
| GRAND | TOTAL 88        |  84495.6  |

Includes  Projects  relating  to  Product/Infrastructure  Development  for Destinations  and  Circuits  (PIDDC),  Human  Resource  Development  (HRD), Fairs and Festivals & Rural Tourism. *******

ANNEXURE-II

STATEMENT IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (c)  AND  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTIOIN NO.+*104 ANSWERED ON 07.12.2015 REGARDING SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS TOURISM.

State-wise details of the funds sanctioned under PRASAD Scheme during the year 2014-15 and 2015-16 (as on 02.12.2015) is as under:

(Rs. in Crore)

| Sl. No.   | Name of the State & project                                                                                         | Year    | Amount Sanctioned   |
|-----------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------|---------------------|
|           | BIHAR                                                                                                               |         |                     |
| 1.        | Development of basic facilities at Vishnupad temple, Gaya, Bihar                                                    | 2014-15 | 4.29                |
|           | UTTAR PRADESH                                                                                                       |         |                     |
| 2.        | Development of Mathura-Vrindavan as Mega Tourist Circuit (Ph-II)                                                    | 2014-15 | 14.93               |
| 3.        | Construction of Tourist Facilitation Centre at Vrindavan, Distt. Mathura                                            | 2014-15 | 9.36                |
|           | ODISHA                                                                                                              |         |                     |
| 4.        | Infrastructure Development at Puri, Shree Jagannath Dham- Ramachandi-Prachi River front at Deuli under Mega Circuit | 2014-15 | 50.00               |
|           | PUNJAB                                                                                                              |         |                     |
| 5.        | Development of Karuna Sagar Valmiki Sthal at Amritsar                                                               | 2015-16 | 6.45                |
|           | RAJASTHAN                                                                                                           |         |                     |
| 6.        | Integrated Development of Pushkar/Ajmer                                                                             | 2015-16 | 40.44               |
|           | Andhra Pradesh                                                                                                      |         |                     |
| 7.        | Development of amaravati Town, Guntur District of Andhra Pradesh as Tourist Destination                             | 2015-16 | 28.36               |
|           | Assam                                                                                                               |         |                     |
| 8.        | Development of Kamakhya Temple and Pilgrimage Destination in and around Guwahati.                                   | 2015-16 | 33.98               |
|           | Grand Total                                                                                                         |         | 187.81              |

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ANNEXURE-III

STATEMENT IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (c)  AND  (d)  OF  LOK  SABHA  STARRED QUESTIOIN NO.+*104 ANSWERED ON 07.12.2015 REGARDING SPIRITUAL/RELIGIOUS TOURISM.

State-wise  details  of  funds  sanctioned  under  Swadesh  Darshan  during 2014-15 and 2015-16 (as on 02.12.2015) is as under:

(Rs. in Crore)

|   Sl. No | Name of the Circuit       | State             | Name of Project                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           | Year    |   Amount Sanctioned |
|----------|---------------------------|-------------------|---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|---------|---------------------|
|        1 | Coastal Circuit           | Andhra Pradesh    | Development of Kakinada Hope Island Konaseema as World class coastal & Eco Tourism Circuit in Andhra Pradesh                                                                                                                                                              | 2014-15 |               69.83 |
|        2 | North- East India Circuit | Arunachal Pradesh | Bhalukpong-Bomdila- Tawang in Arunachal Pradesh                                                                                                                                                                                                                           | 2014-15 |               50    |
|        3 | Buddhist Circuit          | Bihar             | Cultural Centre, Bodhgaya                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 | 2014-15 |               33.17 |
|        4 | North- East India Circuit | Manipur           | Development of Tourist Circuit in Manipur: Imphal- Moirang-Khongjom- Moreh                                                                                                                                                                                                | 2015-16 |               89.66 |
|        5 | 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 (exit) in Sikkim | 2015-16 |               98.05 |

| 6   | Eco Circuit    | Uttarakhand   | Integrated Development of Eco- Tourism, Adventure Sports, Associated Tourism related Infrastructure for Development of Tehri Lake & Surroundings as New Destination- District Tehri, Uttarakhand   | 2015-16   |   80.37 |
|-----|----------------|---------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|-----------|---------|
| 7   | Desert Circuit | Rajasthan     | Development of Sambhar Lake Town and Other Destinations under Desert Circuit in Swadesh Darshan Scheme                                                                                             | 2015-16   |   63.96 |
| 8   | Tribal Circuit | Nagaland      | Development of Tribal Circuit Peren -Kohima- Wokha, Nagaland                                                                                                                                       | 2015-16   |   97.36 |
|     |                |               | Grand Total                                                                                                                                                                                        |           |  582.4  |

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