Which of the following cities of Uttar Pradesh is/are covered under the 'Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY)'? 1. Varanasi 2. Mathura 3. Prayagraj 4. Ayodhya Select the correct answer from the codes given below. Codes:
- (a)1 only
- (b)3 only
- (c)1 and 2
- (d)1, 2, 3 and 4
Correct — C, 1 and 2 (Varanasi and Mathura). HRIDAY (Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana) was launched on 21 January 2015 by the then Ministry of Urban Development to develop identified heritage cities in an integrated way. Of the cities selected, two are in Uttar Pradesh — Varanasi and Mathura. Prayagraj (Allahabad) and Ayodhya were NOT part of the HRIDAY list, so only statements 1 and 2 are correct — option (c).
- (a)1 only — Varanasi is indeed a HRIDAY city, but Mathura is also one — so restricting the answer to Varanasi alone understates it.
- (b)3 only — Prayagraj (Allahabad) was not among the HRIDAY cities, so '3 only' is wrong — and it omits Varanasi and Mathura, which are covered.
- (d)1, 2, 3 and 4 — Prayagraj and Ayodhya are not HRIDAY cities; only Varanasi and Mathura from Uttar Pradesh were selected, so 'all four' is incorrect.
HRIDAY (Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana), launched on 21 January 2015 by the Ministry of Urban Development (now the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs), aimed at holistic, heritage-sensitive development of a set of historic cities — improving infrastructure (water, sanitation, roads, lighting) around their heritage assets. It was a fully Centrally funded scheme with an outlay of about Rs 500 crore. Of the selected cities, Varanasi and Mathura lie in Uttar Pradesh.
The trap is that famous UP religious/heritage cities like Prayagraj (Allahabad) and Ayodhya feel like they 'ought' to be on a heritage list — but HRIDAY covered a specific, limited set, and from UP only Varanasi and Mathura made the cut. Recall the two that were actually selected rather than reasoning from general fame.
- HRIDAY launched on 21 January 2015 by the Ministry of Urban Development (now MoHUA); fully Centrally funded, outlay ~Rs 500 crore
- Selected heritage cities included Ajmer, Amritsar, Badami, Dwarka, Gaya, Kanchipuram, Mathura, Puri, Varanasi, Velankanni and Warangal
- From Uttar Pradesh: Varanasi (the largest allocation) and Mathura — Prayagraj and Ayodhya were NOT covered
- Aim: heritage-led urban development; the scheme's period ended in 2019 and its work was later carried forward under the PRASHAD (pilgrimage) scheme
- Assuming Prayagraj (Allahabad) or Ayodhya are HRIDAY cities because they are famous heritage/pilgrimage centres
- Confusing HRIDAY (heritage cities) with PRASHAD (pilgrimage sites) or the Smart Cities Mission
UPPSC/UPSC ask which cities fall under HRIDAY, its launch year/ministry, or how it differs from PRASHAD/AMRUT — anchor 'Varanasi and Mathura' for UP and '2015, Ministry of Urban Development'.
No directly related past PYQ was found.
- practice — not a real PYQ
The HRIDAY (Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana) scheme was launched in which year?
- (a)2014
- (b)2015
- (c)2017
- (d)2019
Answer(b) 2015 — HRIDAY was launched on 21 January 2015 by the Ministry of Urban Development.
- practice — not a real PYQ
HRIDAY, the heritage-city development scheme, was launched by which ministry?
- (a)Ministry of Culture
- (b)Ministry of Tourism
- (c)Ministry of Urban Development (now Housing & Urban Affairs)
- (d)Ministry of Environment
Answer(c) Ministry of Urban Development — now the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs.