Over Rs. 550 crore to be spent on conservation of cultural heritage in State: Mukesh Agnihotri

Shimla July 22

Deputy Chief Minister Mukesh Agnihotri today here said that the State Government was fully committed to the conservation of cultural heritage and the modern development of religious sites in the state. He said the government was making continuous efforts to preserve the rich traditions and heritage of the state while also ensuring better facilities for devotees at various pilgrimage sites.

He said that the present government has sanctioned approximately Rs.550 crore so far for the conservation and development of the cultural heritage, religious places, ancient temples and historical monuments in the state. Out of this, nearly Rs. 50 crore has been approved for the restoration of ancient temples forts and archaeological sites. An assistance of Rs. 37 crore has also been provided for various developmental works in state-acquired temples.

The Deputy Chief Minister said that for the convenience of devotees, a SUGAM Darshan system was introduced at Shri Chintpurni Temple from 8th August 2023, which has helped in crowd management and provided special facilities to the elderly and differently-abled persons. Additionally, digital services like online Langar booking and online Darshan have also been made available. Similar digital arrangements are being implemented in other temple trusts of the state as well.

He said under the PRASAD scheme, Rs. 56.26 crore has been sanctioned for Shri Chintpurni Temple to promote religious tourism and spiritual heritage. A grand complex worth Rs. 250 crore was also being constructed at Shree Chintpurni Temple. Apar from this the government has approved Rs.100 crore each for the development of Shee Jwalaji and Shree Naina Devi temples.

Mukesh Agnihotri said that to ensure purity in religious rituals and chanting of mantras, special training programmes have been introduced for temple priests. Recently, 15 priests from Shri Chintpurni Temple and 10 priests from Shri Naina Devi Temple received online training at the Sanskrit Faculty of Banaras Hindu University (BHU). In the coming days priests from other temple trusts would also be trained in a phased manner.

He said that Rs.11.16 crore has been sanctioned for the maintenance of cultural heritage, while Rs. one crore was being provided annually to religious institutions for regular worship rituals and infrastructure development under the recurring fund scheme. The financial assistance for incense and lighting at smaller temples has also been doubled for the financial year 2025-26.