With an estimated expenditure of over Rs 3,295 crore and spanning 23 states, 40 tourism projects, including Assam's Rang Ghar, have received a nod from the Centre to develop lesser-known destinations into iconic sites to promote a more balanced distribution of tourists across the country.
The Department of Expenditure has come out with the directives and the Ministry of Tourism issued operational guidelines for Special Assistance to States/Union Territories for Capital Investment (SASCI) for the development of iconic tourist centres, officials said.
The Ministry of Tourism circulated the SASCI guidelines to the state governments directing them to formulate and submit the project proposals to the ministry, which are iconic and can create impactful destinations, the officials said.
The last date for project proposal submission was October 15, 2024, and by that day, a total of 87 proposals were received costing more than Rs 8,000 crore, as a senior official in the ministry said to the media.
Thereafter, the Ministry of Tourism shortlisted 40 projects across 23 states for Rs 3295.76 crore in line with the guidelines and as per the procedure or criteria. These projects have now been sanctioned by the Department of Expenditure, the official said to the media.
Assam’s Rang Ghar is one of the selected destinations. Some other selected destinations are Matsyagandha Lake, Saharsa (Bihar), the proposed Town Square, Porvorim (Goa), and Orchha (Madhya Pradesh).
Infusing long-term interest-free loans for 50 years to states for developing iconic tourist centres in the country is the aim of this scheme and to brand and market them at a global scale, the ministry was quoted to have said to media.
A timeline of two years has been given to the states to complete the projects.
Also Read: Northeast Tourism Surge From 70 Lakh to 125 Lakh Visitors in a Decade
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