Shimla: Himachal Pradesh has been left far behind in the Centre’s flagship ‘Mera Gaon Meri Dharohar’ (MGMD)
6programme, with no clarity on how many villages from the state have even been included. Meanwhile, other states are racing ahead with full documentation.
According to a written reply by Union Culture and Tourism Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat in the Lok Sabha on Monday, the Centre has identified 6,38,365 villages across India for cultural mapping under MGMD. Of these, the details of 6,23,449 villages have already been uploaded on the national MGMD portal.
In sharp contrast, Himachal has no official record available publicly on how many villages have been mapped or uploaded—highlighting a serious implementation gap.
States like Bihar and Odisha have completed their mapping at the district level.
Bihar’s West Champaran district has uploaded details of all 1,237 villages.
In Odisha, cultural mapping has been completed for 47,209 villages, including full documentation of all 998 villages in Bhadrak district and 2,798 villages in Balasore district.
The MGMD programme documents both tangible and intangible heritage—from oral traditions, customs, art forms and historical sites to food, fairs, festivals, dress, ornaments and local landmarks. The aim is to build authentic cultural profiles of every village, boost rural identity and encourage community-led documentation.
Officials say the structured cultural database will eventually help in heritage tourism, skill promotion, cluster development, and sustainable rural livelihoods.
But with Himachal still unclear about its progress, the state risks missing out on the cultural, economic and tourism benefits tied to this ambitious national exercise.