The ministry of urban development has approved the action plans under the Heritage City Development and Augmentation Yojana (HRIDAY) for eight cities—Varanasi, Mathura, Ajmer, Dwarka, Badami, Warangal, Amaravati and Vellankini—at a total cost of Rs 431 crore.

The HRIDAY national empowered committee chaired by Madhusudhan Prasad, secretary, urban development approved the action plans after detailed presentations by officials of respective cities and state governments.

The approved plans will seek to conserve and develop core heritage assets of respective cities besides improving sanitation through solid waste management, easy access through signage's and better mobility, interpretation centres, landscaping, provision of green spaces among other things.

Some projects in these eight cities had already been approved and their funds released earlier even before the comprehensive action plans were cleared. These cities have been divided into different zones for taking up varied infrastructure development projects for enhancing the appeal of mission cities which are known as centres of rich cultural heritage.