(a) whether the Government has received any proposals from the various State Governments for the development of tourist sites in their respective States;
(b) if so, the details thereof and the status of their proposals, State-wise including Bihar and Maharashtra; and
(c) the total number of tourist sites for which development works have been done during the last three years, State-wise including Bihar and Maharashtra?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)
(DR. MAHESH SHARMA)
(a) to (c): For development of tourism infrastructure in the country, the Ministry of Tourism has launched two new schemes in 2014-15 i.e. Swadesh Darshan - Integrated Development of Theme-Based Tourist Circuits and PRASAD- Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive.
Under Swadesh Darshan scheme thirteen thematic circuits have been identified for development namely; North-East India Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Krishna Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Ramayana Circuit and Heritage Circuit.
Under PRASAD scheme, 23 sites of religious significance have been identified namely Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Amritsar (Punjab), Ajmer (Rajasthan), Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh), Dwarka (Gujarat), Deoghar (Jharkhand), Belur (West Bengal), Gaya (Bihar), Guruvayoor (Kerala), Hazratbal (Jammu & Kashmir), Kamakhya (Assam), Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu), Kedarnath (Uttarakhand), Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), Patna (Bihar), Puri (Odisha), Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh), Somnath (Gujarat), Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Trimbakeshwar (Maharashtra), Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Vellankani (Tamil Nadu).
The State-wise details of the projects sanctioned under Swadesh Darshan and PRASAD schemes including Bihar and Maharashtra since 2014-15 is annexed.
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