Centre's much hyped Swadesh Darshan scheme going on sluggishly

According to official sources, 59 of the total 76 projects of Swadesh Darshan scheme 1.0 have been completed to date even after releasing nearly 90 percent of the overall budget of the scheme.

New Delhi:It was 2014-15, and the Central government had launched a mega Swadesh Darshan 1.0 scheme for thematic tourism development across the country with a December 2022 deadline. However, government statistics revealed that at least 22 percent of the projected work related to the scheme is still pending.

As per government records, 59 of the total 76 projects of Swadesh Darshan scheme 1.0 have been completed to date even after releasing nearly 90 percent of the overall budget of the scheme. As many as 17 projects which is 22 percent of the entire scheme are still pending with the physical and financial progress has not been found satisfactory.

"Out of the 17 pending projects, four have less than 50 percent progress and it is doubtful if they would get completed in the near future," a government official said. When asked about the reasons for such delay, the official citing departmental reports said that in most cases the delay seems to be of clearance from forest authorities, temple authorities, environment clearance, and delays due to contractors.

The official said that day took place in States and UTs like Uttar Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Kerala, and Rajasthan. "While delays in J&K are mainly due to difficult terrain and weather conditions, the delay in two projects of Kerala is due to the temple and environmental clearance," the official said.

As many as 76 projects under the scheme have been sanctioned since its inception under 13 themes for a revised sanctioned cost of Rs 5315.59 crore. An amount of Rs 4734.11 crore has been released till December 31, 2022 under the scheme.

Some of the 17 projects which are incomplete till date include the integrated development of tourist facilities at Mantalai and Sudhmahadev in Jammu and Kashmir, the development of spiritual circuit IV-Gorakhnath temple (Gorakhpur), Devipattan temple (Balrampur) and Vatvashni temple (Domariyagunj) in Uttar Pradesh, development of Sabarimala-Erumeli-Pampa-Sannidhanam as a spiritual circuit in Kerala among others.

"The matter related to the progress of the project is also taken up at the secretary and minister level with the State governments. However, during various review meetings undertaken by the ministry, States have requested multiple extensions in the completion timeline, which is under review with the ministry," the official from the tourism department said.

Significantly, following a detailed review of the Swadesh Darshan scheme, the Ministry has launched Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0) with the mantra 'vocal for local' and with the objective to develop substantial and responsible destinations with a tourist and destination-centric approach. It was launched in January this year.

The Ministry of Tourism as of now has approved the development of 48 destinations in the country under Swadesh Darshan scheme 2.0, approximately 2 destinations in one State. Accordingly, the ministry has provided an allocation of Rs 229.00 crores under Budget Estimate (BE) 2023-24.

The Swadesh Darshan scheme 1.0 had fifteen thematic circuits pertaining to culture, heritage, eco-tourism, wildlife, rural, cruises etc and almost all these themes have been repeated in scheme 2.0.