Tourist footfall nearly doubled after 1,670-km of new roads; 64 remote habitations connected
Arteev Sharma
Jammu: The Central Government has attributed the sharp rise in tourist arrivals in sparsely populated Ladakh to improved road connectivity following the region’s reorganization as a Union Territory in August 2019.
Responding to a joint query by BJP MPs Shankar Lalwani and Dr. Bhola Singh in Lok Sabha today, Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Nityanand Rai claimed that the Union Territory administration has constructed, blacktopped, or metalled approximately 1,670 kilometers of additional road infrastructure since 2019 under various central and UT-level schemes.
“There has been significant improvement in road connectivity in Ladakh after its reorganization,” Rai said, citing schemes such as the Central Road Infrastructure Fund (CRIF), Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana (PMGSY), and other local initiatives.
He said, “The improved road connectivity along with various other initiatives taken by the UT administration, has significantly helped in development of the tourism sector. The improved road connectivity has also helped in reducing travel time, safe and efficient year-round travel, opening up of new tourist locations, boosting the winter tourism and attracting adventure enthusiasts to the region, which in turn, has led to rise in tourist numbers”.
According to official data shared by the minister, tourist arrivals in Ladakh rose from 2,79,937 in 2019 to 5,31,396 in 2022, followed by 5,25,374 in 2023 and 3,76,386 until mid-2024.
He further said, “To ensure connectivity of remote areas with the headquarters during winter, the UT of Ladakh is now well equipped with snow clearance machineries to ensure that the road connectivity is maintained during heavy snowfalls. Helipads are also constructed at different locations to improve the connectivity”.
In a separate reply, the government informed the Lok Sabha that it sanctioned a total of 65 habitations for providing all-weather road connectivity under PMGSY in Ladakh. Of these, 64 have already been connected as of July 31 this year. The sanctioned habitations include four with populations over 1,000, 15 with over 500, and 46 with over 250 residents.
Pertinently, the Government of India has released an amount of Rs 261.28 crore as central funds for construction of roads under PMGSY in Ladakh during the last three years. An expenditure of Rs 249.58 crore including State Share has been made under the scheme during the period.
