Meghalaya: First Project Under Tourism Ministry’s Swadesh Darshan Scheme Inaugurated By CM Conrad K Sangma

Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad K Sangma today (9 January) inaugurated the ‘Development of North East Circuit: Umiam (Lake View) - U Lum Sohpetbneng- Mawdiangdiang - Orchid Lake Resort’, which is the first project in the state implemented under the Centre’s Swadesh Darshan Scheme, as per a Press Information Bureau release.

The Rs 99.13 crore project was approved by the Ministry of Tourism in July 2016 . As part of the project, facilities such as a traditional healing centre, a tribal rejuvenation centre, tourism information centre, multipurpose hall, souvenir shops, trekking routes, etc have been developed.

The Ministry of Tourism has concentrated a lot of its energy to develop tourism in North-Eastern states, which suffer from a lack of quality infrastructure, poor services and little awareness among travellers.

Toward this goal, the ministry has sanctioned 16 projects worth Rs 1349.04 crore under the Swadesh Darshan and PRASHAD schemes and is also working in collaboration with other central ministries such as those of culture, highways, civil aviation, etc for propelling the sector forward in the region.

Foreign tourist arrivals are already on the upswing in the North-East thanks to these initiatives, with 1.69 lakh of them visiting the region in 2017 versus 1.45 lakh in 2016.