Shri K. J. Alphons, Union Minister of State (I/C) for Tourism informed that Ramayana and Krishna Circuit are among fifteen thematic circuits identified for development under the Swadesh Darshan scheme of Ministry of Tourism.
The Ministry has initially identified following destinations for development under Ramayana and Krishna Circuit:
- Ramyana Circuit: Ayodhya, Nandigram, Shringverpur & Chitrakoot (Uttar Pradesh), Sitamarhi, Buxar & Darbhanga (Bihar), Chitrakoot (Madhya Pradesh), Mahendragiri (Odisha), Jagdalpur (Chattisgarh), Nashik & Nagpur (Maharashtra), Bhadrachalam (Telangana), Hampi (Karnataka) and Rameshwaram (Tamil Nadu).
- Krishna Circuit: Dwarka (Gujarat); Nathdwara, Jaipur & Sikar (Rajasthan); Kurukshetra (Haryana), Mathura, Vrindavan, Gokul, Barsana, Nandgaon & Govardhan (Uttar Pradesh) and Puri (Odisha).
The details of projects sanctioned under the above thematic circuits are as under:
(Rs. in crore)
| Sl. No. | Name of State/ Year of sanction | Project Name | Amt. Sanctioned |
| 1. | Uttar Pradesh
(2016-17) |
Development of Chitrakoot and Shringverpur as Ramayana Circuit | 69.45 |
| 2. | Uttar Pradesh
(2017-18) |
Development of Ayodhya under Ramayana Circuit | 133.31 |
| 3. | Haryana (2016-17) |
Development of Tourism Infrastructures at places related to Mahabharata in Kurukshetra, Haryana under Krishna Circuit. | 97.35 |
| 4. | Rajasthan
(2016-17) |
Integrated Development of Govind Dev ji temple (Jaipur), Khatu Shyam Ji (Sikar) and Nathdwara (Rajsamand) in Rajasthan under Krishna Circuit. | 91.45
|
The projects sanctioned under the scheme have a gestation period of 18-36 months. All the above projects are under implementation.
The State Governments/Union Territories identifies the projects under the above scheme and submit the same to the Ministry regularly for consideration. The projects under the schemes are sanctioned subject to availability of funds, submission of suitable Detailed Project Reports, adherence to scheme guidelines and utilization of funds released earlier. No proposal has been received in the Ministry for the development of Sita Circuit.
In addition to Ramayana and Krishna Circuit, thirteen thematic circuits namely North-East Circuit, Buddhist Circuit, Himalayan Circuit, Coastal Circuit, Desert Circuit, Tribal Circuit, Eco Circuit, Wildlife Circuit, Rural Circuit, Spiritual Circuit, Heritage Circuit, Sufi Circuit and Tirthankar Circuit have been identified for development of tourism infrastructure in the country including pilgrimage sites under Swadesh Darshan Scheme.
The Ministry also has the PRASHAD scheme (National Mission on Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive) for holistic development of identified pilgrimage destinations in the country. Under the scheme, 25 sites/ cities have been identified for development.