Kolkata, August 4, 2025

In a written answer to the unstarred question posed in the Lok Sabha by MP Dr Jayanta Kumar Roy today on whether the Government has sanctioned any projects for Jalpaiguri district of West Bengal under the Swadesh Darshan 2.0 or Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Heritage Augmentation Drive (PRASHAD) scheme, particularly for promoting religious and tea tourism and if so, the details thereof along with the steps taken/being taken to develop infrastructure and tourist amenities in Lataguri, Gorumara and other tourist sites in the said district, the Union Minister for Tourism, Shri Gajendra Singh Shekhawat stated that, the development and promotion of tourist destinations and tourism products is primarily undertaken by the respective State Government/ Union Territory (UT) Administration. However, the Ministry of Tourism through its central sector schemes of ‘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)’ complements the efforts of tourism infrastructure development by extending financial assistance to the State Governments/UT Administrations; subject to availability of funds, adherence to scheme guidelines, submission of Detailed Project Reports (DPRs) by the State Government/UT Administration.

The Union Minister added that the Government of India under its initiative for ‘Special Assistance to States for Capital Investment (SASCI)’ has also provided financial assistance to the States for development of tourism projects.

Shri Shekhawat pointed out that there is no project presently enlisted for consideration before the Ministry for sanctioning in the district of Jalpaiguri. The Ministry of Tourism, he said, as a part of its ongoing promotional activities regularly promotes various tourist destinations and tourism products of the country including West Bengal in the international and domestic markets through social media, promotional websites, events etc.

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SSS/4.8.25/…

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