Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana (Delhi)

What is the Delhi Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana?

Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana is a Government of NCT of Delhi scheme that pays for a senior citizen's pilgrimage in full. Launched in 2018 and administered through the Revenue Department and the Divisional Commissioner's office, the scheme books an entire train, arranges food and hotel stay at the destination, and returns the group to Delhi, with no money collected from the traveller at any stage.

The scheme is known locally as the Mukhyamantri Tirth Yatra Yojana, and Delhi residents also search for it simply as the "free tirth yatra" scheme. The official title used in government circulars is Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana.

According to the Delhi government's published scheme framework, roughly 1,100 seats per assembly constituency are made available each year. With 70 assembly constituencies in Delhi, that works out to about 77,000 pilgrims a year when the full quota is used. Departures run in batches through the year, each batch covering one route.

What the government pays for

• Rail travel from Delhi to the pilgrimage destination and back.
• Accommodation at the destination for the duration of the trip.
• All meals during travel and stay.
• Local transport between the railway station, hotel and temples.
• A paramedic or medical attendant travelling with the group.
• Group accident insurance cover for the duration of the journey.

Trips run between roughly 3 and 8 days, depending on the route.

Who is eligible for the Delhi Teerth Yatra scheme?

You are eligible if:

• You have completed 60 years of age as on 1 January of the year in which you apply.
• You are a resident of the National Capital Territory of Delhi and hold a voter ID card issued in a Delhi assembly constituency.
• You can produce a certificate of residence from the sitting MLA of your constituency, from a Delhi minister, or from the chairperson of the Teerth Yatra Development Committee.
• You are physically and mentally fit to travel, certified on a self-attested medical certificate.
• You have never travelled under this scheme before.

You cannot apply if:

• You are below 60 years on 1 January of the application year. There is no relaxation on age.
• You or your spouse is employed with the central government, a state government, or a local or autonomous body.
• You have already availed a trip under the scheme in an earlier year. The benefit is once in a lifetime.
• You are not an elector in Delhi and cannot produce a Delhi voter ID or the MLA's residence certificate.
• Your medical condition makes independent travel unsafe and you are not travelling with an attendant.

An attendant is optional but allowed. The attendant must be 21 years of age or above, and the government pays the attendant's travel, food and stay as well. Only one attendant is permitted per pilgrim.

What documents are required for the Teerth Yatra application?

All copies must be self-attested. Original documents are carried to the district Revenue office if verification is called for, and again to the boarding point on the day of departure.

How to apply for the Delhi Teerth Yatra Yojana online

1. Open the Delhi e-District portal at edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in.
2. Under Citizen Corner, click New User and register with your Aadhaar or voter ID number, then create your login and password. Skip this step if you already have an e-District account from an earlier certificate application.
3. Log in and select the Revenue Department, then choose the Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana service from the services list.
4. Fill the application form with your name, date of birth, address, assembly constituency, mobile number and preferred pilgrimage route.
5. Add the attendant's name, age and relationship if you intend to take one. Leave the section blank if you are travelling alone.
6. Upload the scanned copies of the voter ID, MLA residence certificate, medical fitness certificate, self-declaration and photograph.
7. Submit the form and note down the application reference number shown on screen. Take a printout or a screenshot.
8. Wait for verification by the district office and for the constituency-wise draw of lots that decides selection.

There is no fee at any stage. No agent has the power to secure a seat.

How to apply offline

1. Visit the office of the District Magistrate or the district Revenue office for your district in Delhi, or the office of your local MLA where a facilitation desk has been set up for the scheme.
2. Collect the printed application form, or bring a filled printout of the e-District form.
3. Attach self-attested copies of the voter ID, MLA residence certificate, medical fitness certificate, self-declaration and photographs.
4. Submit the form at the counter and collect a dated acknowledgement. The staff enter the form into the e-District system on your behalf.

Offline submission is the practical route for applicants who do not use a smartphone or computer. The verification and draw process is identical.

How are pilgrims selected and informed?

Selection is made by a computerised draw of lots, held constituency by constituency so that seats are distributed evenly across Delhi rather than going to whoever applied first. Applications that fail document verification are excluded from the draw.

Selected applicants are informed by SMS on the registered mobile number and through the district office and the MLA's office. The message carries the route, the departure date and the reporting point, usually a Delhi railway station. Keep the mobile number in the application active, because the intimation window before departure is short.

If you are not selected in one draw, your verified application generally stays in the pool for later departures in the same cycle.

How to check your Teerth Yatra application status

1. Log in to edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in with the credentials you used to apply.
2. Open Track Your Application and enter the application reference number.
3. The screen shows whether the form is pending verification, verified and in the draw pool, selected, or rejected with a reason.

You can also ask at the district Revenue office, quoting the reference number.

Why Teerth Yatra applications get rejected

• Age below 60 as on 1 January of the application year.
• No Delhi voter ID, or a voter ID from outside Delhi.
• Missing MLA residence certificate, the single most common shortfall.
• Medical certificate not attached or not self-attested.
• Applicant or spouse in government service, caught at declaration stage.
• Repeat application by someone who has already travelled once under the scheme.
• Attendant under 21 years, which invalidates the attendant entry.

Most of these are correctable. Obtain the missing certificate and re-submit a fresh application on the e-District portal rather than arguing over the rejected one.

Key points to plan around

• The trip is once in a lifetime per person, so choose the route carefully.
• Carry your original voter ID and medical certificate on the day of travel.
• Group accident insurance cover applies during the journey, reported at Rs 1 lakh per pilgrim in scheme publicity material.
• Trips are by train, not air, and involve overnight journeys.
• Routes have covered Haridwar and Rishikesh, Mathura and Vrindavan, Ayodhya, Varanasi and Prayagraj, Amritsar, Vaishno Devi, Ajmer Sharif, Shirdi, Dwarka, Jagannath Puri, Rameshwaram and Tirupati Balaji. The active list changes each year.

Where to complain or get help

• District Revenue office of your district in Delhi, for verification and status queries.
• Office of your local MLA, for the residence certificate and for intimation about departures.
• e-District Delhi portal grievance link at edistrict.delhigovt.nic.in, for problems with the online form or with document uploads.
• Divisional Commissioner's office, Government of NCT of Delhi, for escalation on selection and travel arrangements.

Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana registration is free from start to finish. No official will ask for money to add your name to the list, and no one can guarantee selection in the draw.