Culture, Tourism ministries asked to complete projects in 18 months

Officials of the culture and tourism ministries have been asked to complete their projects including development of theme-based tourist circuits and Ram museum within 18 months.
The decision was taken at a meeting as it was felt that the BJP needed to start gearing for the 2019 elections, sources said.
The tourism ministry's Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) scheme and the Swadesh Darshan scheme, an integrated development of theme- based tourist circuits and the culture ministry's Ram Museum are top priority projects that are being pushed to be completed in 18 months time.
The urban development ministry's Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme aimed at preserving and revitalising the soul and unique character of the heritage cities in India is among the priority projects.

"The idea is to have six months left before the elections for the party to tom-tom these achievements. The government is keen to develop Ayodhya and give it a major face lift.
"Also, people in Uttar Pradesh specially need to see the work that has been done on the ground and they won't wait for five years. So, UP is a priority," a senior official of the tourism ministry said.

Culture and Tourism Minister Mahesh Sharma, in fact is touring the length and breadth of the state and has also met Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath, paving the way for making cities like Agra, Mathura, Ayodhya, Varanasi and Gorakhpur tourist friendly.

"This is the way that the prime minister works. His focus is to complete the work, which was earlier done in years, in months. My aim is not just lay the foundation stones, but to deliver completed projects during our tenure," Sharma told PTI.
In the anvil for a face lift in these 18 months are cities like Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh), Gaya (Bihar), Dwaraka (Gujarat), Amritsar (Punjab), Ajmer (Rajasthan), Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu), Vellankani (Tamil Nadu), Puri (Odisha), Varanasi and Mathura (Uttar Pradesh), Kedarnath (Uttarakhand) and Kamakhya (Assam) PRASAD scheme.
Under the HRIDAY scheme other than the cities listed under PRASAD, cities like Badami (Karnataka), Warangal (Telangana) have been chosen in the first phase for development as heritage cities.

Under the swadesh darshan scheme, along with the cities under PRASAD AND HRIDAY scheme, Guwahati will also be developed as a tourist circuit.