Parliament Question: PRASAD Scheme in Tamil Nadu

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF TOURISM LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.7 ANSWERED ON 20.07.2026 PRASAD SCHEME IN TAMIL NADU 7. SHRI MALAIYARASAN D: Will the Minister of TOURISM be pleased to state: (a) the details of projects sanctioned, completed and under implementation under the PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive) scheme across the country, State/UT-wise, and particularly in Kallakurichi Lok Sabha Constituency of Tamil Nadu; (b) the details of the total funds allocated, released and utilised under the said scheme during the last three years and the current year, State/UT-wise and district-wise in Tamil Nadu; (c) whether the Government has evaluated the impact of PRASAD projects on tourist inflow, local employment generation and infrastructure improvement at pilgrimage sites; (d) the status of ongoing proposals from Tamil Nadu, including temple towns and heritage pilgrimage centres awaiting approval or funding under the said scheme and the reasons for delay, if any; and (e) whether the Government proposes to expand the PRASAD scheme to cover additional lesser-known pilgrimage destinations to promote balanced religious tourism development, particularly in southern States including Tamil Nadu? ANSWER THE MINISTER OF TOURISM (SHRI GAJENDRA SINGH SHEKHAWAT) (a) to (b): Ministry of Tourism under its Scheme “Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual, Heritage Augmentation Drive” (PRASHAD) provides financial assistance to the State Governments (SGs) and Union Territory Administrations (UTAs) for development of tourism related infrastructure at identified religious and heritage sites across the country including the State of Tamil Nadu. The details of the total funds sanctioned, releasedand utilized under the said scheme, State/UT wise including Tamil Nadu is annexed. (c): The development of tourism infrastructure and visitor amenities under the PRASHAD scheme is intended to facilitate improved accessibility, better visitor experience and the overall development of pilgrimage destinations. Ministry of Tourism undertakes third-party impact evaluation of the Central Sector Schemes to assess the outcomes and effectiveness of interventions. As per the Report on Evaluation of Central Sector Scheme PRASHAD by Indian Institute of Management Rohtak in the year 2021, the Scheme has helped in increasing the visitor satisfaction, ease of travel and aesthetical aspects of the selected heritage sites. Also, the report mentioned that the Scheme has led to increase in the positive overall visitor user experience. (d): Receiving proposals from the State Governments and Union Territory Administrations for financial assistance for tourism projects is a continuous process. The proposals received are examined with reference to the prescribed guidelines and financial assistance is extended for such projects subject to fulfilment of the stipulated conditions and availability of funds. (e): The PRASHAD scheme provides financial assistance for the development of identified pilgrimage and heritage destinations including lesser-known pilgrimage destinations across the country including Tamil Nadu. Under the scheme, the proposals received are examined with reference to the prescribed guidelines and financial assistance is extended for such projects subject to fulfilment of the stipulated conditions and availability of funds. *******ANNEXURE STATEMENT IN REPLY TO PARTS (A) to (B) OF LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.7 ANSWERED ON 20.07.2026 REGARDING PRASAD SCHEME IN TAMIL NADU RAISED BY SHRI MALAIYARASAN D The details of projects sanctioned under PRASHAD Scheme (in ₹Crore) S. State Sanction Project Name Sanction Amount Amount Physical No. Year Amount Authorized Utili sed Progress (%) 1 Andhra 2015-16 Development of 27.77 27.77 27.77 100.00 Pradesh Amaravati Town, Guntur District as a Tourist Destination 2 Andhra 2017-18 Development of 43.08 43.08 43.08 100.00 Pradesh Srisailam Temple 3 Andhra 2022-23 Sri Varaha 54.04 27.37 27.37 100.00 Pradesh Lakshmi Narsimha Swami Vari Devasthanam at Simhachalam in Vishakhapatna m Temple 4 Andhra 2024-25 Development of 25.33 13.79 6.74 50.16 Pradesh Pilgrimage Tourism Infrastructure in Annavaram Temple Town 5 Arunachal 2020-21 Development of 37.88 31.02 21.95 93.26 Pradesh Parshuram Kund, Lohit Distt. 6 Assam 2015-16 Development of 29.80 29.80 29.80 100.00 Kamakhya Temple and Pilgrimage Destination inand around Guwahati 7 Bihar 2015-16 Development at 29.62 29.62 29.62 100.00 Patna Sahib 8 Bihar 2014-15 Development of 3.63 3.63 3.63 100.00 basic facilities at Vishnupad temple, Gaya, Bihar 9 Bihar 2024-25 Development of 13.29 0.00 0.00 0.00 Ambika Bhawani Temple, Saran 10 Chhattisgarh 2020-21 Development of 48.44 40.19 31.94 100.00 Maa Bamleshwari Devi Temple, Dongargarh, Rajnandgaon District, Chhattisgarh 11 Goa 2024-25 Development of 16.46 5.28 0.00 100 Bom Jesus Basilica 12 Gujarat 2016-17 Development of 10.46 10.46 10.46 100.00 Dwarka 13 Gujarat 2016-17 Development of 45.36 45.36 45.36 100.00 Pilgrimage Amenities at Somnath 14 Gujarat 2018-19 Development of 47.12 47.12 47.12 100.00 Promenade at Somnath 15 Gujarat 2022-23 Development of 50.00 30.00 27.58 88.64 Pilgrimage Facilities at Ambaji Temple, Banaskantha, Gujarat 16 Haryana 2019-20 Development of 48.53 34.68 34.68 98.43 Mata Mansa Devi Temple and Nada Saheb Gurudwara in Panchkula District17 Jammu 2016-17 Development at 40.46 34.30 34.30 100.00 & Hazratbal Kashmir Shrine, Srinagar 18 Jharkhand 2018-19 Development of 36.79 34.95 34.95 100.00 Baba Baidyanath Dham, Deoghar 19 Karnataka 2023-24 Development of 45.38 13.33 0.00 10.88 Pilgrimage Amenities at Sri Chamundeshwa ri Devi Temple, Mysuru 20 Karnataka 2024-25 Development of 18.37 0.00 0.00 0.00 Renuka Yallama Devi temple 21 Karnataka 2024-25 Development of 22.25 6.30 0.00 22.82 Basic Amenities at Papnash Temple, Bidar dist. 22 Kerala 2016-17 Development at 45.19 45.19 45.19 100.00 Guruvayur Temple 23 Madhya 2020-21 Development of 49.99 42.55 34.63 100.00 Pradesh Amarkantak 24 Madhya 2017-18 Development of 43.93 43.93 43.93 100.00 Pradesh Omkareshwar 25 Maharashtra 2017-18 Development of 45.41 38.44 38.44 100.00 Trimbakeshwar, Nashk 26 Meghalaya 2020-21 Development of 29.29 27.78 27.78 100.00 Pilgrimage Facilitation in Meghalaya 27 Mizoram 2022-23 Development of 44.89 35.54 26.37 85.69 Infrastructure for Pilgrimage and Heritage Tourism in the State of Mizoram 28 Mizoram 2024-25 Development of 5.47 1.56 1.56 37.99 Basic Amenities under PRASHAD scheme inVangchhia, Champhai District 29 Nagaland 2018-19 Development of 25.20 23.56 23.56 100.00 Pilgrimage Infrastructure in Nagaland 30 Nagaland 2022-23 Development of 18.18 15.45 15.45 100.00 Pilgrimage Tourism Infrastructure at Zunheboto 31 Odisha 2014-15 Infrastructure 50.00 10.00 0.0 100.00 Development at Puri, Shree Jagannath Dham - Ramachandi - Prachi River front at Demuli under Mega Circuit 32 Puducherry 2024-25 Development of 25.94 0.00 0.00 9.86 Pilgrim Facilites & Tourist attractions for Sri Dharbaranyesw ara Temple 33 Punjab 2015-16 Development of 6.40 6.40 6.40 100.00 Karuna Sagar Valmiki Sthal at Amritsar 34 Punjab 2021-22 Development of 30.52 23.80 23.80 97.01 Chamkaur Sahib at Rupar, Punjab 35 Rajasthan 2015-16 Integrated 32.64 26.11 26.11 100.00 Development of Pushkar/Ajmer 36 Sikkim 2020-21 Development of 33.32 28.31 28.31 100.00 Pilgrimage Facilitation at Four Patron Saints, Yuksom 37 Tamil 2016-17 Development of 13.99 13.99 13.99 100.00 Nadu Kanchipuram38 Tamil 2016-17 Development of 4.86 4.86 4.86 100.00 Nadu Velankanni 39 Tamil 2024-25 Development of 40.94 11.75 0.00 8.06 Nadu 8 Navagraha Temples 40 Telangana 2020-21 Development of 38.90 33.07 33.07 100.00 Jogulamba Devi Temple, Alampur 41 Telangana 2022-23 Development of 62.00 32.73 32.73 70.35 Pilgrimage and Heritage Tourism Infrastructure at Rudreshwara (Ramappa) Temple, Mulugu 42 Telangana 2022-23 Development of 41.38 16.30 8.43 55.12 Pilgrimage Infrastructure at Bhadrachalam, Bhadradri Kothagudem District 43 Telangana 2024-25 Development of 4.22 1.09 0.00 31.42 Basic Amenities at goddess Renuka Yellama Devasthanam 44 Tripura 2020-21 Development of 34.43 28.01 25.63 95.96 Tripura Sundari Temple, Udaipur 45 Uttar 2015-16 Development of 18.73 18.73 18.73 100.00 Pradesh Varanasi – Phase –I 46 Uttar 2014-15 Development of 10.98 10.98 10.98 100.00 Pradesh Mathura- Vrindavan as Mega Tourist Circuit (Ph-II) 47 Uttar 2017-18 River Cruise 9.02 9.02 9.02 100.00 Pradesh Tourism in Ganga, Varanasi 48 Uttar 2014-15 Construction of 9.36 9.36 9.36 100.00 Pradesh Tourist FacilitationCentre at Vrindavan 49 Uttar 2017-18 Development of 44.60 35.26 31.77 100.00 Pradesh Varanasi – Phase –II 50 Uttar 2018-19 Development of 37.59 34.64 30.97 100.00 Pradesh Infrastructure facilities at Govardhan 51 Uttarakhan 2015-16 Integrated 34.77 34.77 34.77 100.00 d Development of Kedarnath 52 Uttarakhan 2018-19 Development of 56.15 41.13 38.38 87.92 d Infrastructure for Pilgrimage Facilitation in Badrinath Ji Dham 53 Uttarakhan 2021-22 Augmentation of 54.36 10.22 10.22 100.00 d Pilgrimage Infrastructure Facilities and Gangotri and Yamunotri Dham 54 West 2016-17 Development of 30.03 28.30 23.39 100.00 Bengal Belur Math Total 1726.74 1250.88 1134.18 ******