(a) whether the Government has initiated `ECO City Projects` to transform cities like Tirupati, and other religious places in the country into model tourist destinations;
(b) if so, the status of the project;
(c) whether the Government proposes to include other religious places in the country under this project with a view to boost religious tourism in the country;
(d) if so, the details thereof; and
(e) the steps taken by the Government in this regard?
MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) FOR ENVIRONMENT AND FORESTS (SHRIMATI JAYANTHI
NATARAJAN)
(a) to (e) Yes, the Eco-City Scheme was initiated by the Central Pollution Control Board
(CPCB) in 2002-03 in selected towns/cities with a view to improving environment through
implementation of the identified environmental improvement projects. The religious places
where Eco-City Scheme was taken up, include
(i) Tirupati (Andhra Pradesh),
(ii) Vrindavan (Uttar Pradesh),
(iii) Ujjain (Madhya Pradesh),
(iv) Puri (Odisha),
(v) Kottayam (Kerala) and
(vi) Thanjavur (Tamil Nadu). Under this Scheme limited
success was achieved in Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh.
In view of the limited capacities of State Pollution Control Boards (SPCBs), the lack
of coordination between CPCB, SPCBs and Municipalities, and availability of other
schemes for Urban development like Jawahar Lal Nehru Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM),
it was decided in October 2011 to close the Eco-city Scheme of CPCB in the public
interest.