FILE photo: Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu in Lok Sabha
The Centre would soon launch a Rs 500 crore scheme for conservation of heritage and development of 12 cities across the country, Union Urban Development Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said in Hyderabad today.
The 12 cities would be covered under the National Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY), which is likely to be rolled out next month.
The 12 cities are Amritsar, Varanasi, Gaya, Puri, Ajmer, Mathura, Dwarka, Badami, Velankanni, Kanchipuram, Warangal and Amaravati, he told reporters.
Mr Naidu said a workshop was conducted on the scheme yesterday in Delhi.
The towns selected in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana -Amaravati (in Guntur district) and Warangal respectively, have rich heritage and culture, he said.
Warangal was the capital of the Kakatiya dynasty, while Amaravati, situated on the banks of river Krishna, was the capital of Satavahanas in the 2nd Century, besides being a major Buddhist centre.
Amaravati is close to the location where the capital of Andhra Pradesh, which was bifurcated to create Telangana, would come up.
"Centre would provide substantial funds for construction of houses for the poor in the towns of Khammam and Ramagundam in Telangana," the minister added.