(a) whether the Government has identified new tourist spots for development during the last three years;
(b) if so, the details thereof along with the locations where new tourist spots have been developed during last three years and the amount spent thereon; and
(c) if so, the guidelines to be followed for development of new tourist spots?
MINISTER OF STATE FOR TOURISM (INDEPENDENT CHARGE)
(DR. MAHESH SHARMA)
(a) to (c): The Ministry of Tourism has launched the Swadesh Darshan and the National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) Schemes for the development of tourism related infrastructure and facilities to promote tourism in the country in 2014-15. Under Swadesh Darshan, thirteen theme based 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 also twenty five religious cities/sites have been identified for development namely Ajmer (Rajasthan), Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Amritsar (Punjab), Ayodhya (Uttar Pradesh), Badrinath (Uttarakhand), Belur (West Bengal), Deoghar (Jharkhand), Dwarka (Gujarat), Gaya (Bihar), Guruvayoor (Kerala), Hazratbal (Jammu & Kashmir), Kamakhya (Assam), Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu), Katra (Jammu & Kashmir), Kedarnath (Uttarakhand), Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), Omkareshwar (Madhya Pradesh), Patna (Bihar), Puri (Odisha), Somnath (Gujarat), Srisailam (Andhra Pradesh), Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh), Trimbakeshwar (Maharashtra), Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh) and Vellankani (Tamil Nadu).
In addition to the above, the Ministry of Tourism was also extending Central Financial Assistance to the State Governments/Union Territory Administrations under the Product/Infrastructure Development for Destinations and Circuits (PIDDC) Scheme which has been delinked from Union Support for States from the financial year 2015-16.
The number of projects and amount sanctioned under the operative schemes to State Governments/UT Administrations is given at Annexure.
The tourism projects are identified for development in consultation with the State Governments/UTs and are sanctioned subject to availability of funds, submission of suitable detailed project reports, adherence to scheme guidelines and utilization of funds released earlier.
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