Industry Odisha Bureau, Aug 1: The Central Government has sanctioned Rs 320.71 crore for development of four tourism destinations in Odisha since 2014-15, officials said.
Out of the sanctioned amount, the Centre has so far released Rs 201.39 crore to the state for development of the tourism spots under Swadesh Darshan (SD), Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) and Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) – Development of Iconic Tourist Centres to Global Scale’ schemes.
According to official data, Rs 70.82 crore has been sanctioned for Development of Gopalpur, Barkul, Satapada and Tampara (Coastal Circuit) in the financial year 2016-17, of which Rs 59.47 crore and the project was completed.
Similarly, the Government of India has sanctioned Rs 99.90 crore for development of Hirakud and Rs 99.99 crore for development of Satkosia under SASCI scheme during the financial year 2024-25. The Centre has so far released Rs 131.92 crore for the two projects, which are under implementation stage now, the officials said.
A total of Rs 50 crore sanctioned for development of Infrastructure development at Puri, Shree Jagannath Dham – Ramachandi – Prachi River front at Demuli (Mega Circuit) under PRASAD scheme. However, only Rs 10 crore released for the projects till now.
Development and promotion of tourist destinations and tourism products is primarily undertaken by the concerned State Governments /Union Territory Administrations (UTA).
However, the Ministry of Tourism through its schemes of ‘Swadesh Darshan (SD)’, ‘Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0)’, ‘Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD)’ – a sub-scheme of SD2.0, and ‘Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)’ complements the efforts of tourism infrastructure development by extending financial assistance to the State Governments /UT Administrations; subject to adherence to scheme guidelines, submission of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) by them, availability of funds, Government directions, inter-se priority etc.
In addition, Government of India under its initiative for ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI) – Development of Iconic Tourist Centres to Global Scale’ scheme, has also provided financial assistance to the States including Odisha in the year 2024-25 for development of tourism projects.
