Cabinet approves Swadesh Darshan Scheme
Under Swadesh Darshan Scheme, Ministry of Tourism is developing critical tourism infrastructure in the country in a sustainable and inclusive manner to make India into a world class tourist destination. The focus under the scheme is to develop public facilities like last-mile connectivity, tourist reception centers, wayside amenities, solid waste management, illumination, landscaping, parking etc. where private sector is not willing to invest.
The Union Cabinet, chaired by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi has approved the following proposals:
1. Continuation of the Swadesh Darshan Scheme during 14th Finance Commission period and beyond;
2. Rs 2055.96 crore for 60 on-going projects completing in December 2019; and
3. Rs 324.09 crore for 6 projects for which substantial funds have been released and projects to be completed in September 2020.
The Swadesh Darshan Scheme – Integrated Development of theme based tourist circuits is the flagship scheme of Ministry of Tourism for development of tourism infrastructure in the country. The scheme aims to position tourism as a major engine of economic growth and job creation and develop circuits having tourist potential in a planned and prioritized manner. It also aims to promote cultural and heritage value of the country to generate livelihoods
in the identified regions and enhance the tourist attractiveness in a sustainable manner by developing world class infrastructure in the circuit/destinations.
The scheme follows community based development and pro-poor tourism approach to create awareness among the local communities about the importance of tourism for them in terms of increased sources of income, improved living standards and overall development of the area. It also creates employment through active involvement of local communities and harness tourism potential for its effects in employment generation and economic development. It aims to make full use of the potential and advantages in terms of available infrastructure, national culture and characteristic strong points of each and every region throughout the country by development of theme based circuits.