Question : Inclusion of Places in Buddha and Gandhi Circuit

(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?

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:

<pre> (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

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All the above projects are under implementation.

(c): The 2nd 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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