Parliament Question: Development of Jyotirlinga sites

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.144# ANSWERED ON 12.02.2026 DEVELOPMENT OF JYOTIRLINGA SITES 144# SHRI GOVINDBHAI LALJIBHAI DHOLAKIA: Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state: (a) whether development of twelve highly sacred Jyotirlinga sites associated with Lord Shiva are being carried out through corridor projects; (b) whether the objectives of corridor projects are to promote religious tourism, connectivity and local economy; and (c) the targets set for the projects and the progress made thereunder, so far? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF TOURISM (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT) (a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House. ********STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.144# ANSWERED ON 12.02.2026 REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF JYOTIRLINGA SITES RAISED BY SHRI GOVINDBHAI LALJIBHAI DHOLAKIA (a) to (c): Development and promotion of tourist destinations and products including religious tourism is primarily undertaken by the respective State Government/Union Territory Administration. However, the Ministry of Tourism, through its ongoing schemes of Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD), Swadesh Darshan and ‘Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD)’, a sub-scheme of Swadesh Darshan 2.0 scheme, complements the efforts of the State Governments (SGs) and UT Administrations (UTs) by extending financial assistance to SGs/UTs for the development of tourism-related infrastructure across the country. The above-mentioned Schemes aim to rejuvenate pilgrimage and spiritual experience of the tourists through availability of well- planned tourism infrastructure enabling tourist convenience, accessibility, cleanliness, last-mile connectivity among others. The development of tourism infrastructure is ensured in a holistic manner with the objective of boosting tourism, generating employment and strengthening the local economy. The projects under these schemes are implemented by the respective States/UTs. The details of the projects sanctioned for the development of Jyotirlinga sites in the country along with the present status under the above-mentioned Schemes are given in the Annexure. ******ANNEXURE STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (c) OF RAJYA SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.144# ANSWERED ON 12.02.2026 REGARDING DEVELOPMENT OF JYOTIRLINGA SITES RAISED BY SHRI GOVINDBHAI LALJIBHAI DHOLAKIA List all projects at Jyotirlinga under various schemes: Sr. Name of the project Scheme Project Status no. Cost (₹ Crore) 1. Development of Srisailam Temple PRASHAD 43.08 Completed Andhra Pradesh 2. Development of Pilgrimage Amenities at PRASHAD 45.36 Completed Somnath 3. Development of Promenade at Somnath PRASHAD 47.12 Completed 4. Development of Baba Baidyanath PRASHAD 36.79 Completed Dham, Deoghar, Jharkhand 5. Development of Omkareshwar, Madhya PRASHAD 43.93 Completed Pradesh 6. Development of Trimbakeshwar, Nashik PRASHAD 45.41 Completed 7. Iconic transformation of Rameswaram Challenge 30.02 Ongoing Based Destination Development (CBDD) 8. Development of Chennai- Swadesh 73.13 Completed Mamamallapuram – Rameshwaram – Darshan 1.0 Manpadu – Kanyakumari 9. Integrated Development of Kedarnath PRASHAD 34.77 Completed Total 399.61 *****