The push to develop Ayodhya as a tourism centre, accompanied by large-scale infrastructure projects, comes on the back of years of limited income growth and tourist inflows.
An airport, railway station, connecting highways, roads, water, and power projects were among the initiatives announced ahead of the Ram Mandir temple consecration ceremony on January 22.
The average resident of the district has traditionally had an income lower than the per capita income of Uttar Pradesh.
The per capita income of Ayodhya increased to Rs 32,293 by 2018-2019, from Rs 24,800 in 2011-2012, at a compound annual growth rate of 3.8 per cent.
This is lower than the overall growth of Uttar Pradesh, which stood at 4.7 per cent during this period.
Both Ayodhya and Uttar Pradesh saw per capita income decline due to the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest data as of 2021 recorded a per capita income of Rs 31,550 for Ayodhya, falling 1.2 per cent on a compound annual basis in the two years since 2018-2019.
The fall was sharper at 4.3 per cent compounded annually for Uttar Pradesh, where per capita income came in at Rs 40,310 in 2020-2021.
The state-level per capita income remains 30 per cent higher than Ayodhya, maintaining the same gap as in 2011-12 (chart 1).
The increased spending in the district involves connectivity through the Lucknow-Gorakhpur highway, which costs Rs 2,500 crore (Rs 25 billion), road-widening within the district worth Rs 797 crore (Rs 7.97 billion).
While Ayodhya airport costs Rs 320 crore (Rs 3.2 billion), Ayodhya's railway station is worth Rs 240 crore (Rs 2.4 billion) among key projects (chart 2).
The overall tourism numbers show similar signs of stagnancy after a sharp decline during the pandemic.
There were 26.8 million tourist visits in 2022, compared to 28.5 million in 2018 and 30.5 million in 2019.
Kumbh Mela visits boosted numbers for the states in 2019 (chart 3).
The increase in infrastructure spending is in line with what is being seen for the state as a whole.
Uttar Pradesh's capital expenditure increased 17 per cent in 2023-2024, according to an analysis of its Budget documents by New Delhi-based PRS Legislative Research.
It is spending more money on urban development than the average Indian state, with urban development accounting for 5.7 per cent of budget spending for Uttar Pradesh, compared to 3.5 per cent for all states for 2022-2023.
The Uttar Pradesh figures are Revised Estimates, while the data for all states is based on Budget Estimates.
Media estimates suggest over Rs 3,000 crore (Rs 30 billion) has been collected for the temple, of which less than half has been used in its construction. The rest reportedly remains as surplus with the trust.
Feature Presentation: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com
