Buddhist Circuit Welfare Board

The Buddhist Circuit Welfare Board is a statutory inter‑ministerial body created to coordinate, fund and manage the development of India’s Buddhist pilgrimage network—commonly called the Buddhist Circuit—spanning key sites in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. Its uniqueness lies in being the only dedicated Indian authority that integrates heritage conservation, pilgrim services and international cultural diplomacy under a single legal framework, thereby turning a dispersed set of ancient monuments into a cohesive tourism corridor.

Origins and Legislative Foundation

The Board was constituted under the Buddhist Circuit Development Authority Act, 2015 (Act No. 12 of 2015), which received presidential assent on 23 December 2015. Section 3(1) of the Act mandates the establishment of the Authority “for the purpose of planning, development, promotion and preservation of Buddhist sites of national importance.” The first meeting of the Board took place on 15 March 2016, chaired by the Union Minister of Tourism, Shri Mahendra P. Singh (as of that date). The Act’s Section 4 enumerates a 15‑member composition that includes the Ministers of Culture and External Affairs, secretaries of the Ministries of Tourism, Culture and External Affairs, and representatives from the six states that host major Buddhist sites.

Mechanism and Operational Structure

The Board operates through a three‑tiered mechanism: (1) a Master Plan drafted by a technical committee of archaeologists, urban planners and Buddhist scholars; (2) Funding channels that combine the Union budget allocation of ₹500 crore for Phase I (2016‑19) with matched contributions from state governments and private sponsors; and (3) Implementation units that liaise with the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI), state tourism departments and local municipalities. The Board’s Secretariat, based in New Delhi, processes project proposals, monitors progress through quarterly reports, and publishes an online portal (buddhistcircuit.in) that offers virtual tours, pilgrim itineraries and real‑time accommodation data.

Key Provisions of the 2015 Act

• •Section 5(1)(a) authorises the Board to identify “sites of Buddhist heritage of national and international significance” and to acquire land for visitor infrastructure.
• •Section 5(1)(b) obliges the Board to fund restoration works, with a stipulated ceiling of ₹150 crore per site for structural stabilization, as demonstrated in the 2018‑19 restoration of the Dhamek Stupa at Sarnath.
• •Section 5(1)(c) requires the Board to develop “pilgrim amenities” such as sanitation, signage in eight languages, and wheelchair‑accessible pathways, a mandate that led to the installation of 120 multilingual information boards along the Bodh Gaya‑Rajgir corridor in 2020.
• •Section 7 creates a Buddhist Heritage Fund, to which foreign governments and Buddhist diaspora organisations may contribute; by 2022, contributions from Japan, Sri Lanka and Thailand totaled US $12 million.

Current Status and Achievements

As of the 2023‑24 fiscal year, the Board has completed 12 major restoration projects, including the Mahabodhi Temple’s ancillary shrines, the ancient Nalanda monastery complex, and the 2nd‑century CE Kushinagar stupa. The “Buddhist Heritage Corridor”—a 500 km stretch linking Bodh Gaya, Rajgir, Nalanda, Sarnath and Kushinagar—features upgraded highways, 30 newly built visitor centres,