PRASAD Scheme

The Government of India launched the PRASAD (Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive) Scheme for the year 2014-2015 under the Ministry of Tourism. The program focuses on developing and identifying tourist destinations throughout India to improve awareness on religious tourism. It aims to integrate tourist attractions in a prioritized, organised and sustainable manner to provide comprehensive information on religious tourism.

The growth of the domestic economy depends a lot on tourism. In order to realize the potential of tourism, there is a need for the full development of government-selected tourism destinations and partnerships with other stakeholders. The PRASAD Scheme aims to pave the way for the development and promotion of religious tourism in India.

Objectives

Aims and objectives of the scheme are: 

• The program aims to improve infrastructure facilities such as access points (road transport, rail and water), end-line connections, basic tourist destinations, environmentally friendly modes, rainforests, telecom facilities, internet connections etc

• The program focuses on developing and identifying tourist destinations throughout India to improve religious tourism awareness

• The program aims to enhance the voluntary support available to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) to improve the sustainability of projects under this program

• The Central Government provides 100% funding for parts of a project designed to fund the community

• Sub-project components that are not eligible for land acquisition assistance for development, resettlement and rehabilitation package, operation, storage and management of created assets, development or investment in assets or properties owned by private entities

Cities  

Cities identified under the PRASAD Scheme are: 

1. Amritsar (Punjab).

2. Kedarnath (Uttarakhand).

3. Mathura (Uttar Pradesh).

4. Ajmer (Rajasthan).

5. Varanasi (Uttar Pradesh).

6. Gaya (Bihar), Kamakhya (Assam).

7. Dwaraka (Gujarat).

8. Puri (Odisha).

9. Amaravati (Andhra Pradesh).

10. Kanchipuram (Tamil Nadu).

11. Velankanni (Tamil Nadu).

Strategy  

The strategies identified for the PRASAD scheme: 

• Spotting and identifying landmarks or stations which have the ability to be turned into a pilgrimage, religious spot or spiritual site

• Consulting the landowners and stakeholders of the chosen area regarding the planned use of the land or further cracking a deal for the land

• Ensuring an environment-friendly approach. The outline design of such a site is done by identifying the obstructional infrastructure around

• To achieve the desired goal in a particular time frame by working closely and in harmony with both the state and national government along with private firms involved

• Arranging for reasonable public funds when needed from sources like the public sector funds and the corporate sector funds

Budgeting

Budgeting of PRASAD Scheme:

• In 2017-2018, an announcement was made for the establishment of five specialized tourist destinations in partnership with the provinces. The budget includes Rs. 1,840.77 crores in the ministry of tourism, and Rs. 250 crores in the budget

• Rs. 959.91 million has been allocated to Integrated Tourism Development under the Swadesh Darshan programme

• Rs. 100 crores have been allocated to Pilgrimage Rejuvenation and Spiritual Augmentation Drive (PRASAD)

• Rs. 412 million has been provided for promotion and exposure

Analysis of the Scheme 

Despite the Government of India putting so much effort and investing an amount of approximately 100 crores from the budget of 1840 crores allocated to the ministry of tourism, the scheme hasn’t been up to the mark. 

A parliamentary committee was formed in 2018 to look closely at the performance of PRASAD and it found out that the conceptualization of the scheme is radically wrong and needs a complete relook.

The committee also observed that the programme is not going well even after three years of implementation. The committee said, “Provinces do not buy the vision of the tourism department and its program. The committee visited Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, and during the committee discussions, they found that they had their own tourism policy. But it looks like there is no cooperation with the central government. The permanent committee is not satisfied with the government’s response, which blames provincial government agencies for delays,” it said

Conclusion 

Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spirituality Augmentation Drive (PRASAD) is an ambitious scheme launched by the Ministry of Tourism in 2014-2015 for a prioritized, planned and sustainable development of pilgrimage destinations to provide a comprehensive religious as well as tourism experience. This scheme also helps in the growth of employment in areas selected under this scheme. After completion of three years of this scheme the parliamentary committee has raised questions regarding its working. However, if implemented efficiently, this scheme has huge prospects of developing religious centres and increasing the employment rates of those areas.