Shri Ramlala Darshan Yojana

What is Shri Ramlala Darshan Yojana?

Shri Ramlala Darshan Yojana is a state-funded pilgrimage scheme of the Government of Chhattisgarh, implemented by the Chhattisgarh Tourism Board under the Tourism and Culture Department. The scheme sends residents of the state on a fully paid group journey to the Ram temple at Ayodhya, about 900 kilometres from Chhattisgarh, at no cost to the pilgrim.

The scheme is commonly written as Shri Ram Lala Darshan Yojana, Ramlala Darshan Yojana and, in Hindi, श्री रामलला दर्शन योजना. All refer to the same scheme, approved by the state cabinet in late 2023 after the construction of the Ram temple, with the first trains running in 2024.

Chhattisgarh's connection to the Ramayana is the stated reason for the scheme. The state is traditionally identified with Kaushalya, the mother of Rama, and the government positions the pilgrimage as letting residents of ordinary means, particularly older people, make a journey they would otherwise not afford.

About 20,000 beneficiaries are taken each year. The Chhattisgarh Tourism Board signs a Memorandum of Understanding with the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), which runs the trains and arranges security, health cover, meals, sightseeing, local transport and escorts during the journey. Groups travel together on dedicated trains from Chhattisgarh, and the itinerary has generally included Ayodhya with stops at other pilgrimage points such as Varanasi on the same trip.

Who is eligible for Shri Ramlala Darshan Yojana?

A person qualifies if:

• The applicant is a permanent resident of Chhattisgarh.
• The applicant is between 18 and 75 years of age.
• The applicant is declared medically fit for the journey by the District Medical Board.
• The applicant has not already travelled under the scheme.

Priority within the eligible pool goes to older applicants. In the first phase the facility was extended to people above 55 years of age, reflecting the scheme's intent to serve those least likely to make the journey on their own.

Persons with disabilities are covered, and may travel with one accompanying family member. An applicant above 65 may take one attendant. The spouse of a selected beneficiary may accompany them. Every accompanying person must separately satisfy the residence and fitness conditions.

A person is not eligible; cannot apply: if:

• The person is not a permanent resident of Chhattisgarh.
• The person is below 18 or above 75 years of age.
• The District Medical Board does not certify the person fit for a long rail journey. Serious cardiac, respiratory or mobility conditions that make group travel unsafe are the usual grounds.
• The person has already been sent on the pilgrimage under this scheme in an earlier batch.

What documents are required for Shri Ramlala Darshan Yojana?

The medical certificate is the step that delays the most applications. Getting the Medical Board examination done early, rather than after the batch is announced, is the single most useful thing an applicant can do.

How to apply for Shri Ramlala Darshan Yojana

1. Collect the application form from your Gram Panchayat office if you live in a rural area, or from the Nagar Nigam, Nagar Palika or ward office if you live in a town or city. The form may also be downloaded and printed from the district or tourism department notice.
2. Fill the form in Hindi, giving your name, age, full address, mobile number and the emergency contact details of a relative, and paste a recent passport-size photograph.
3. Get the medical fitness examination done and attach the certificate issued by the District Medical Board, along with self-attested copies of your residence, identity and age documents.
4. Submit the completed form at the same Panchayat or municipal office and obtain an acknowledgement or receipt entry.
5. Wait for the district committee's selection. The Shri Ramlala Darshan Committee, chaired by the District Collector, screens applications against the district's quota, applies the age priority and, if applications exceed seats, draws a lottery.
6. On selection, report on the announced departure date at the boarding station with your identity document and a copy of the selection intimation.

There is no online application. A pilgrim should not pay anyone to fill, forward or "approve" the form.

How are beneficiaries selected?

Selection is a district-level process, not a state-level one. Each district receives a proportionate quota of the roughly 20,000 annual seats, based on its population share. The reported split within a district's quota is about 75 per cent to rural applicants and 25 per cent to urban applicants, which keeps Panchayat-area residents from being crowded out by better-organised town applications.

Inside the quota, the committee applies the priority to older applicants first, then uses a lottery among the remaining eligible applicants. The list of selected persons is published locally, and the district administration informs selected pilgrims of the departure date.

What happens during the journey?

The Chhattisgarh Tourism Board and IRCTC handle the whole trip as a package. On a typical batch:

• Pilgrims board a dedicated train from a designated station in Chhattisgarh.
• Meals are served through the journey and at the halt city.
• Lodging is arranged in dharamshalas or hotels booked for the group.
• Local transport carries the group between the station, the accommodation and the temple.
• A medical escort and security staff travel with the group throughout.

Pilgrims are advised to carry their own regular medicines, a copy of the identity document used in the application, warm clothing in winter batches, and the mobile number of the district nodal officer.

Common reasons an application is rejected

• Medical fitness certificate missing or the District Medical Board did not certify the applicant fit. This is the most frequent single reason.
• Age outside the 18 to 75 band on the date of application.
• Residence proof not attached, or a document from outside Chhattisgarh.
• Form filled in English or left incomplete, particularly the emergency contact and mobile number fields.
• Not selected in the lottery, where the district's applications exceeded its quota. This is not a rejection on merit, and the applicant may apply again for a later batch.
• Already travelled under the scheme in an earlier batch.

An applicant who was not selected should keep the medical certificate and the document set ready, because a fresh application for the next batch is usually accepted at the same office without repeating the whole process.

Key facts about Shri Ramlala Darshan Yojana

Where to ask questions or complain

• The Gram Panchayat Secretary or the ward office where the form was submitted, for application and selection queries.
• The District Collectorate, where the Shri Ramlala Darshan Committee sits, for quota, lottery and selection-list issues.
• The District Medical Board office, for fitness certificate matters.
• The Chhattisgarh Tourism Board, at tourism.cg.gov.in, for journey arrangements and batch schedules.

The pilgrimage is free from end to end. Any demand for payment — for the form, for the medical certificate beyond normal government charges, or for a place on the list; should be reported to the District Collector.