Arun Jaitley funds World Heritage Sites restoration, extends visa on arrival facility

New Delhi: The Union Finance Minister Shri Arun Jaitley has said that the facilities at India's 25 Cultural World Heritage Sites are still deficient and require restoration.

While presenting the General Budget 2015-16 in Parliament today, the Finance Minister stated that the facilities like landscaping restoration, signage and interpretation centres, parking, access for differently abled, amenities for visitors including securities and toilets, illumination and plans for benefiting communities around them would be restored.

The FM proposed to provide resources to start work along these lines for the following Heritage Sites:

1. Churches & Convents of Old Goa

2. Hampi, Karnataka

3. Kumbalgarh and other Hill Forts of Rajasthan

4. Rani ki Vav, Patan, Gujarat

5. Leh Palace, Ladakh, J&K

6. Varanasi Temple town, UP

7. Jalianwala bagh, Amritsar, Punjab

8. Qutub Shahi Tombs, Hyderabad, Telangana

Jaitley also proposed to extend the Visas on arrival facility to 150 countries, in stages, after the success of the same issued to travelers of 43 countries.