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HRIDAY Scheme 2024 is the Heritage City Development And Augmentation Yojana. The HRIDAY scheme was launched in January 2015 by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs. The National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana promote accessibility, safety, livelihood, cleanliness, and faster service delivery in heritage cities, as part of the HRIDAY scheme. The scheme aims to preserve the heritage and revitalize our rich cultural heritage.

Name of the schemeHRIDAY
Full form of the schemeNational Heritage City Development And Augmentation Yojana
Date of launching21st January 2015
Government MinistryMinistry of Housing and Urban Affairs

About HRIDAY Scheme:

HRIDAY Scheme began in January 2015 for the improvement of urban areas. This plan is prepared to save and revive the urban communities of India to mirror their unique character. It also supports the advancement of a tastefully engaging, open, useful, and secured environment in urban communities. The HRIDAY Metropolitan Improvement Plan has been executed by the Service of Lodging and Urban Affairs and is being carried out with quantifiable objectives like the execution of the Smart City Plan on a mission mode.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs is responsible for developing core heritage infrastructure for designated heritage sites approved by the Ministry of Culture. Examples of infrastructure include approach roads, drainage, footpaths, electrical wiring, landscaping, sanitation, street lighting, water supply, waste management, and allied citizen services like tourist conveniences, security, etc.

In January 2019, HRIDAY completed 4 years of operations and had a cost of assets of Rs.685758 crore. The first budgeted expenditure had been Rs 500 crore. Of this, projects worth Rs 422.3 crore were approved, and projects worth Rs 1401.4 crore were completed.

HRIDAY Scheme Objectives:

The official HRIDAY Scheme goals for the development of urban heritage cities are as follows-

Implementing, planning, and developing infrastructure keeping in mind the sensitivity of heritage, such as delivering services and developing infrastructure in core areas of historic cities.

Preserve and renovate heritage so that tourists can enjoy its unique features.

As a basis for urban planning, growth, service planning, and delivery, create an inventory of built, cultural, living, and natural heritage assets in cities.

Providing basic services, such as public toilets, water taps, and security measures, such as street lights, as well as improving tourist facilities.

Developing links between cultural facilities and tourism as well as the conservation of heritage and the building of local industries based on heritage.

It also involves preserving and maintaining the heritage of urban areas, as well as rehabilitating historic buildings and retrofitting them with modern conveniences.

The establishment of a public-private partnership to preserve and maintain historic buildings is also part of this goal.

Development of economic activities to create employment opportunities for people living in and around heritage sites, including making public and cultural spaces accessible and developing skills among them.

Using modern ICT tools to make cities more informative and implementing modern security tools like CCTV to make cities more secure.

Roads should be developed, the universal design adopted, and historical locations should be mapped using GIS so that heritage sites can be visited by people of all abilities.

HRIDAY Scheme Cities List:

The list of the cities under the HRIDAY Scheme are as follows-

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

Issues In Maintenance Of Heritage Sites:

It is difficult to manage heritage areas in deprived areas because of inadequate basic infrastructures, such as water supply, sanitation, and roads. Basic amenities, such as toilets, signs, streetlights, are absent. A lack of clear regulatory frameworks, multiple institutions for financing and managing urban heritage assets, as well as the ineffectiveness of local communities have caused major challenges in managing heritage cities.

HRIDAY Scheme Motive:

Preservation and revitalization of the character of the heritage city to reflect the unique character of the city by providing aesthetically pleasing, accessible, informative, and secure environments. Strategic and planned development of heritage cities to improve the quality of life, with a particular focus on sanitation, security, tourism, heritage revitalization, and livelihood options that preserve the city’s cultural identity.

Check out HRIDAY Scheme Notification pdf

Here, we cover a small piece of information about the HRIDAY Scheme. For the application process and for the Heritage City Development And Augmentation Yojana Online Application visit the HRIDAY Yojana official website. Stay tuned to get notified about the other Government schemes.