Previous Year Question
Which of the following cities of Uttar Pradesh is/are covered under the ‘Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)’?
Varanasi
Mathura
Prayagraj
Ayodhya
Select the correct answer from the codes given below:
1 only
3 only
1 and 2
1, 2, 3 and 4
Correct Answer: C
Detailed Solution
The Government of India launched the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) on 21 January 2015. Its objective was to preserve the historical and cultural character of heritage cities while improving related urban infrastructure.
The Scheme covered 12 cities across India—
Ajmer, Amaravati, Amritsar, Badami, Dwarka, Gaya, Kancheepuram, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi, Velankanni and Warangal.
Of these 12 cities, only two cities of Uttar Pradesh—Mathura and Varanasi—were included.
Prayagraj and Ayodhya were not among the 12 cities selected under the HRIDAY Scheme.
The Scheme focused on heritage-linked infrastructure, public spaces, roads, sanitation and improvement of civic facilities around heritage assets.
Current status: HRIDAY was a time-bound scheme and its Mission period ended on 31 March 2019. No new city or project was taken up under the Scheme after that date.