A country’s heritage retells the story of the past. Climatic conditions and man-made damages have gradually become a threat to these sites.

To prevent the damages and boost tourism, the Ministry of Urban Development has launched the HRIDAY or Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana.

This scheme aims to revitalise the soul of India’s heritage and sustainably preserve the heritage cities. Keep reading to learn more about this scheme.

HRIDAY scheme, or the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana, was launched on 21st January 2015 by the Ministry of Urban Development, India.

This scheme targets the all-inclusive growth and development of heritage cities. The Government offered a budget of ₹50 crores to complete this project within 27 months.

The HRIDAY scheme supports the improvement of heritage-linked infrastructure. They aim to revive the urban infrastructure of localities or areas near a heritage or religious site.

This would attract more tourists and contribute significantly to the economy.

HRIDAY Yojana also improves the drainage, sanitation, water supply, roads, waste management, street lights, citizen services and other tourism requirements in the selected cities.

Let’s check the objective of this scheme in detail. This will help understand how this scheme works and its benefits.

Individuals should know that the main objective of this scheme is to uplift the spirit of the HRIDAY cities and implement urban development.

Nevertheless, these are objectives of the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana.

• Implementation, planning and development of sustainable heritage-based infrastructure
• Infrastructure provisioning in core areas of a heritage city
• Apply urban planning methods and technology for historical structure retrofitting
• Construct public amenities such as toilets, transportation service, street lights, water taps and other conveniences
• Preserve and invigorate historical monuments or structures which establish a city's importance
• Using ICT tools to spread awareness about these cities and implementing CCTVs to ensure maximum safety of tourists and structure
• Promotion of perceptible economic activities to improve livelihoods of residents of a heritage city
• Encourage foreign and local tourism

Let’s check the HRIDAY scheme cities list to know where mentioned objectives have been implemented.

The State and Central Government and cultural Ministry have selected 12 cities under the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana.

Individuals should know that residents of cities under the HRIDAY scheme will get job opportunities. Moreover, the Government will preserve the culture and heritage of these cities.

Nevertheless, the selected cities are-

• Amritsar
• Ajmer
• Amravati
• Gaya
• Badami
• Dwarka
• Velankanni
• Kanchipuram
• Warangal
• Mathura
• Puri
• Varanasi

This is all necessary data on HRIDAY and cities selected under this scheme. Individuals can check the official website to know the progress and tourism potential of selected cities.