Rs 2,048 crore sanctioned under 'Swadesh Darshan' scheme

NEW DELHI: The Tourism Ministry has sanctioned 25 projects worth Rs 2,048 crore for 21 states and Union Territories under ' Swadesh Darshan' since January last year, when the scheme was launched.

Of the sanctioned amount, about Rs 403 crore has been released to the states and UTs for projects which have been approved, an official release said.

The states and UTs for which the projects have been sanctioned under the scheme include Jammu and Kashmir, Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra, Kerala, Puducherry, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh and Bihar, it said.

For the northeastern states, the ministry has sanctioned nine projects worth Rs 821 crore, while three projects worth Rs 282 crore have been approved for tribal areas in Nagaland, Chhattisgarh and Telangana, the release said.

For Buddhist Circuit, the ministry has sanctioned two projects worth Rs 108.11 crore for Bihar and Madhya Pradesh, it added.

The Tourism Ministry had launched 'Swadesh Darshan' scheme with an objective to develop theme-based tourist circuits in the country.

Under this, 13 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.