Parliament Question: Development of Shalivahana-era cultural tourism corridor

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM RAJYA SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.1582# ANSWERED ON 12.02.2026 DEVELOPMENT OF SHALIVAHANA-ERA CULTURAL TOURISM CORRIDOR 1582# DR. AJEET MADHAVRAO GOPCHADE:

Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state:

(a) whether Government is preparing a comprehensive and time-bound action plan for development of a Shalivahana-era cultural tourism corridor connecting historical, religious and cultural sites in the Marathwada region of Maharashtra, including Nanded, Ajanta- Ellora, Grishneshwar, Parli Vaijnath, Aundha Nagnath, Paithan, Lonar Lake and the Godavari- Manjira-Haridra confluence;

(b) whether this initiative includes components such as roads, railways, accommodation, digital guide, promotion of local handicrafts and employment generation; and

(c) whether Government is considering its national and international promotion and implementation of a special financial package by constituting a joint committee in coordination with Maharashtra, Karnataka and Telangana? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF TOURISM (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT)

(a) to (c): There is no proposal before the Ministry of Tourism to prepare an action plan for development of Shalivahana-era cultural tourism corridor and to constitute a joint committee. While development of tourism destinations including destination planning is primarily undertaken by the concerned State Government/UT Administration, Ministry of Tourism through its various schemes/initiatives such as ‘Swadesh Darshan (SD)’, ‘Swadesh Darshan 2.0 (SD2.0), ‘Challenge Based Destination Development (CBDD), a sub-scheme of Swadesh Darshan and ‘Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD)’ provides financial assistance to the State Governments/UT Administrations for development of tourism infrastructure and amenities on receipt of project proposals from them in line with the related scheme guidelines, government instructions, availability of funds, inter-se priority etc.

In addition, Government of India under its ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment

(SASCI) – Development of Iconic Tourist Centres to Global Scale’ scheme, has also sanctioned projects in the country with the primary objective to comprehensively develop iconic tourist centres in the country, branding and marketing them at global scale.

The Ministry also regularly co-ordinates with various line Ministries and State Governments/UT Administrations to deliberate on various aspects related to tourism development including connectivity, digitalization, sustainability, employment generation etc. Further, the Ministry as part of its ongoing promotional activities promotes various tourism destinations and products of the country including handicrafts. Such promotions are undertaken by promotional website, social media, events etc.

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