By NewsGam Staff Writer

The government has identified twelve cities namely Amaravati, Gaya, Dwaraka, Amritsar, Ajmer, Kanchipuram, Vellankani, Puri, Varanasi, Mathura, Kedarnath and Kamakhya for development under the Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) by the Ministry of Tourism.

"To implement the PRASAD scheme a mission directorate has been set up in the Ministry of Tourism," said Minister of State for Culture, Dr. Mahesh Sharma, and added, "The Budget provision of Rs.15.60 crore has been made in Revised Estimate (RE) 2014-15." For development of basic facilities at Vishnupad Temple in Gaya under this scheme first installment of Rs.85.78 lakh has already been released, Sharma said.

The Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) scheme aimed at preserving and revitalizing the soul and unique character of the heritage cities in India, has also been approved by the Ministry of Urban Development. Twelve cities having rich heritage and cultural history identified under the HRIDAY scheme are, namely; Amaravati(Andhra Pradesh); Gaya (Bihar); Dwarka (Gujarat), Badami(Karnataka); Puri (Odisha), Amritsar (Punjab); Ajmer(Rajasthan); Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu); Vellankani(Tamil Nadu); Warangal (Telangana); Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh); and Mathura (Uttar Pradesh).

"For the HRIDAY scheme under the Ministry of Urban Development, an amount of Rs.453.90 crores has been allocated to the HRIDAY scheme for implementation and development works," Sharma said.