Pilgrims trek through the Sathram-Sabarimala traditional forest path. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

Expressing disappointment over the slow progress of important projects in the Spiritual Tourism Circuits and under the PRASHAD scheme, a Parliamentary committee has asked the government to develop a “clear-cut Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)” and obtain prior clearances and approvals from relevant authorities for timely completion of projects.

The Spiritual Tourism Circuits were launched by the Ministry of Tourism under its ‘Swadesh Darshan’ Scheme to cater to spiritual and religious tourism. The ‘Pilgrimage Rejuvenation And Spiritual Augmentation Drive’ or PRASAD scheme focuses on developing and identifying pilgrimage sites across India to enrich the religious tourism experience.

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The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Transport, Tourism and Culture noted that of the 23 Spiritual Circuits, five are yet to be completed out of which two circuits in Kerala are lagging behind schedule.

It mentioned there the two circuits of Kerala — the Sabarimala –Erumeli – Pampa-Sannidhanam circuit and SivagiriSreeNarayana Guru Ashram circuit — are yet to be completed. Work had been initiated in the first circuit in 2016-17 while the second one began in 2018-19.

‘Lack of clearance’

In a report tabled in the Lok Sabha on Monday, the committee, headed by JD(U) MP Sanjay Jha, said that at the time of the Demands for Grants 2023-24, it had been informed that the reason for delays in these two Kerala Circuits was due to lack of clearance from the Temple Authorities.

“The Committee has been informed during its study visit to Kerala in September 2023 that the status of physical completion of the two projects is 76% and 51%, respectively,” the report, adding that it was disappointing to see the slow progress on these important projects which have a target completion date of June 2023 and October 2023 respectively.

“The Committee recommends that the Ministry should develop a clear cut Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) and obtain prior clearances and approvals from relevant authorities for future compliance in the interest of timely completion of projects,” it said.

The panel also observed that under the PRASHAD scheme which was launched in 2014-15, only 21 projects out of 45 have been completed which is certainly not a significant achievement, even taking into account the COVID years.

It called upon the Ministry to be mindful of the potential problems and calibrate suitable response at the DPR stage, so that the projects are not held up at later stages, causing both time and cost overrun.