The Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana

India is a country that has a rich cultural heritage. India has had a past that entices everyone to know more about it. The country has seen various eras, rulers, invaders and battles. India’s rich cultural heritage still remains undiscovered and has never been put to use to extract advantages from it.

There have been various attempts in the past years to conserve our rich culture and heritage, but all these efforts failed since they were not carried out well. 

Conserving our cultural heritage does not only mean conserving some monuments and their maintenance. It is more about the development of a complete city – its surroundings, the availability of basic necessities, livelihood, economic growth and various other factors. 

With the same aim in mind, the Union Development Ministry along with the Government of India launched Hriday Yojana. This scheme aimed to develop and preserve the cultural heritage of 12 cities like Varanasi and Mathura and give an enriching and soulful experience to tourists about the Values and Culture India possesses.

Hriday Scheme Strategy

1. The Scheme will be completely funded by the central government.
2. The towns will have to devise a complete plan called Heritage Management Plan (HMP) and detailed projects in order to request assistance from the government.
3. The National Mission Directorate (NMD) will develop the projects and HMPs and work, along with the Public Works Organisations.
4. Hriday Yojana will act as a secretary to the NMDs.
5. The project will be a combined effort of Government, Educational institutions and local communities.

Scheme Objectives

1. Plan and develop ancient cities and showcase the cultural heritage of India.
2. Preserve and revive our heritage in order for tourists to connect directly to the city’s character and communities.
3. Heritage asset inventory of the cities should not only be developed but also documented. Natural, Cultural, Monumental and Living heritage of the place should serve as the base for developments of the city.
4. Local Capacities of cities should be grown in order to incorporate the industries that have been the identity of the cities. Heritage-based industries should be rebuilt and restarted.
5. There should be a cooperative management of public and private sectors in order to lead the urban development of the place.
6. There should be an increased accessibility for the people whether it be accessing physical, which means development of roads, or intellectual access, which means mapping of historical locations.

The Hriday Yojana or the Scheme has a duration of four years, i.e., it began from December, 2014 and lasted till March, 2018.

Indicative Components

The Scheme aimed to focus on four factors:

• Physical Infrastructure
• Social Infrastructure
• Economic Infrastructure
• Institutional Infrastructure

List of Cities under Hriday

There were 12 cities considered under the Hriday scheme to preserve their name and culture. They were:

• Ajmer
• Amravati
• Badami
• Amritsar
• Dwaraka
• Warangal
• Vellankanni
• Varanasi
• Puri
• Mathura
• Kanchipuram
• Gaya

Monitoring of Progress

• Designated officers will monitor the progress on behalf of MoUD.
• Mission Directorates will be assisted by NPMUs. The NPMUs will be responsible for the development of tools and framework so that effective monitoring could be done of interventions taken under project.
• To keep track of the progress of the scheme, NMD can appoint a third party to keep a check on the advances being taken and progress being made.

Conclusion

The Hriday scheme is an amazing step towards the development of the country and its cultural heritage which had been talked of for years. The outcomes of the Hriday Yojana or scheme will lead to increased tourism in India.

Not only will the flow of tourists increase to these cities, their stay in the cities would witness an increase too. The Scheme will lead to a clean and developed environment and fulfil the requirements of sustainable development for the people residing in those cities.

Cities will also witness an improved delivery of urban services. The intention behind the scheme has been clear; the Government is willing to put its tourism to use and attract people to improve the economy of the country.

India is the only country which has been talked of since the ancient eras and has a lot of stories to recite to the people. Every place has its own significance and a tell-tale to attract people. Thus, to invite people to see what India has always been and why people wished to conquer this place is a wise decision. This will not only increase the economy of the country but also increase people’s knowledge of Indian culture.