Uttar Pradesh’s Rs 7.36 lakh crore budget for 2024-25, presented in the legislative assembly on February 5, has a special focus on developing the state as a religious tourism hotspot. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath and finance minister Suresh Khanna dedicated the budget to Lord Ram and the ideals of ‘Ram Rajya’. The outlay for new schemes was Rs 24,863.57 crore, said Khanna.

For Ayodhya, the budget has made a provision of Rs 150 crore to expand the new city airport. Another Rs 100 crore has been earmarked for Ayodhya’s development. Ayodhya will be developed into a model ‘solar city’, and will get a Ramayana and Vedic research institute at a cost of Rs 10 crore.

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Adityanath claimed his government has ushered in ‘Ram Rajya’ (ideal governance) in the state by creating a crime-free environment. Khanna, on the other hand, said: “If we imagine the highest ideals in any society and culture, then we cannot go beyond the concept of Ram Rajya.”

“Mutual cooperation, trust, justice-based good governance, zero crime, complete absence of class discrimination in society and religious conduct are the main characteristics of Ram Rajya,” he added.

The budget made special announcements for Mathura and Varanasi. In Mathura, Rs 23 crore has been earmarked for a new dairy plant with a daily capacity of 30,000 litres, which will gradually be increased to 100,000 litres a day.

Varanasi will get Rs 150 crore for purchasing land to set up a branch of the National Institute of Fashion Technology. Rs 400 crore has been allocated for a medical college in the district. To boost tourism, the budget has set aside Rs 1,750 crore for developing religious corridors in Ayodhya, Varanasi, Mirzapur and Mathura.

Khanna said there were plans to beautify the road from Shri Kashi Vishwanath Temple to the Ganga as the number of devotees visiting the place had increased manifold. He said given the potential rise in tourist footfalls in Ayodhya, widening and beautification of three access roads to the Ram temple are being carried out.

Plans are afoot to attract more religious tourists to the Vindyanchal region. Work is underway to upgrade the ‘Parikrama Marg’ and public facilities falling in the triangular alignment connecting the Maa Vindhyavasini, Maa Ashtabhuja Devi and Maa Kali Khoh temples.

A provision of Rs 100 crore has been made for the Mahakumbh in Prayagraj in 2025. The other investments in places of religious significance include Rs 14.7 crore for establishing a Nishad Raj Guha Sanskritik Kendra in Shringverpur and Rs 10.5 crore for a Maharishi Valmiki Cultural Centre in Chitrakoot. The budget also listed tourism development plans for Prayagraj, Naimisharanya, Gorakhpur, Bateshwar Dham, Garhmukteshwar and Sarnath, among others.

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