Parliament Question: Improvement in Connectivity for Tourist Destinations

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3815 ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026 IMPROVEMENT IN CONNECTIVITY FOR TOURIST DESTINATIONS 3815. MD. RAKIBUL HUSSAIN: Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware that inadequate road, rail and air connectivity continues to hamper access to major tourist destinations in Assam; (b) the details of identified connectivity gaps to key tourist sites, including last-mile road connectivity and regional air links; (c) the details of the proposals approved or under consideration to address these gaps in coordination with the Ministries of Road Transport and Highways, Civil Aviation and Railways; and (d) the timelines fixed for completion of such connectivity projects? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF TOURISM (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT) (a) to (d): Connectivity is an important aspect for developing tourism in the country. Ministry of Tourism coordinate very closely with Ministry of Civil Aviation, Ministry of Railways, Ministry of Road Transport & Highways and Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways for connecting the tourism destinations with major source market and also to achieve last mile connectivity across the country including the tourist destinations in Assam. Government in Ministry of Road Transport & Highways is primarily responsible for development and Maintenance of National Highways (NHs) in the country and based on the traffic density, connectivity/logistic requirements and synergy with PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan. Development and planning of State Highways (SHs) in the region is being done by the concerned State Governments/Union Territory Administration.Ministry of Civil Aviation, Government of India in 2016 has launched RCS-UDAN (Regional Connectivity Scheme - Ude Desh ka Aam Naagrik) scheme, whose primary objective is to facilitate/stimulate regional air connectivity by making it affordable. Ministry of Tourism has collaborated with the Ministry of Civil Aviation to extend financial support in the form of Viability Gap Funding (VGF) under the Champion Services Sector Scheme (CSSS) with the purpose of further improving connectivity to important tourist places including lesser-known destinations. Ministry of Tourism is sharing the Viability Gap Funding (VGF) amount for the 53 tourism routes identified for this purpose, list of which is placed at Annexure. Ministry of Tourism is working closely with all the line Ministries to address connectivity gaps and this remains a continuous and ongoing endeavour. No specific timeline has been fixed for completion of such projects. *********ANNEXURE STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (d) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.3815 ANSWERED ON 16.03.2026 REGARDING IMPROVEMENT IN CONNECTIVITY FOR TOURIST DESTINATIONS RAISED BY MD. RAKIBUL HUSSAIN LIST OF 53 TOURISM ROUTES COMMENCED UNDER RCS-UDAN Sr.No. Departure Airport Arrival Airport 1. AHMEDABAD(Gujarat) UDAIPUR (Rajasthan) 2. UDAIPUR (Rajasthan) AHMEDABAD(Gujarat) 3. AMRITSAR(Punjab) JAIPUR(Rajasthan) 4. JAIPUR(Rajasthan) AMRITSAR 5. BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh) UDAIPUR (Rajasthan) 6. UDAIPUR (Rajasthan) BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh) 7. BANGALORE (Karnataka) MYSORE (Karnataka) 8. MYSORE (Karnataka) BANGALORE (Karnataka) 9. RAJAMUNDRY (Andhra Pradesh) VISHAKHAPATNAM (Andhra Pradesh) 10. VISHAKHAPATNAM (Andhra RAJAMUNDRY Pradesh) (Andhra Pradesh) 11. KOLKATA (West Bengal) AMRITSAR (Punjab) 12. AMRITSAR (Punjab) KOLKATA (West Bengal) 13. DIMAPUR (Nagaland) IMPHAL (Manipur) 14. IMPHAL (Manipur) DIMAPUR (Nagaland) 15. VARANASI (Uttar Pradesh) BHUBANESHWAR (Odisha) 16. BHUBANESHWAR (Odisha) VARANASI (Uttar Pradesh) 17. AIZAWL (Mizoram) AGARTALA (Tripura) 18. AGARTALA (Tripura) AIZAWL (Mizoram) 19. VARANASI (Uttar Pradesh) BHUBANESHWAR (Odisha) 20. BHUBANESHWAR (Odisha) VARANASI (Uttar Pradesh) 21. VARANASI (Uttar Pradesh) PATNA (Bihar) 22. AMRITSAR (Punjab) PATNA (Bihar) 23. PATNA (Bihar) AMRITSAR (Punjab) 24. CALICUT (Kerala) DELHI 25. DELHI CALICUT (Kerala) 26. AGRA (Uttar Pradesh) BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh) 27. BHOPAL (MP) AGRA (Uttar Pradesh) 28. DIBRUGARH (Assam) DIMAPUR (Nagaland) 29. DIMAPUR (Nagaland) DIBRUGARH (Assam) 30. DIBRUGARH (Assam) IMPHAL (Manipur)31. IMPHAL (Manipur) DIBRUGARH (Assam) 32. DELHI KHAJURAHO (Madhya Pradesh) 33. KHAJURAHO (Madhya Pradesh) DELHI 34. GORAKHPUR (Uttar Pradesh) VARANASI (Uttar Pradesh) 35. VARANASI (Uttar Pradesh) GORAKHPUR (Uttar Pradesh) 36. PRAYAGRAJ (Uttar Pradesh) LUCKNOW (Uttar Pradesh) 37. LUCKNOW (Uttar Pradesh) PRAYAGRAJ (Uttar Pradesh) 38. DEOGHAR (Jharkhand) KOLKATA (West Bengal) 39. KOLKATA (West Bengal) DEOGHAR (Jharkhand) 40. DEOGHAR (Jharkhand) PATNA (Bihar) 41. PATNA (Bihar) DEOGHAR (Jharkhand) 42. DEOGHAR (Jharkhand) RANCHI (Jharkhand) 43. RANCHI (Jharkhand) DEOGHAR (Jharkhand) 44. BANGALORE (Karnataka) VIDYANAGAR (Karnataka) 45. VIDYANAGAR (Karnataka) BANGALORE (Karnataka) 46. HYDERABAD (Telangana) VIDYANAGAR (Karnataka) 47. VIDYANAGAR (Karnataka) HYDERABAD (Telangana) 48. BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh) UDAIPUR (Rajasthan) 49 UDAIPUR (Rajasthan) BHOPAL (Madhya Pradesh) 50. AHMEDABAD (Gujarat) UDAIPUR (Rajasthan) 51. UDAIPUR (Rajasthan) AHMEDABAD (Gujarat) 52. HOLLONGI (Arunachal G UWAHATI (Assam) Pradesh) 53. GUWAHATI (Assam) HOLLONGI (Arunachal Pradesh) ********