UP govt to fund religious melas with over 5L crowd

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh government has announced that it will fully finance religious melas—both in urban and rural areas—if the footfall crosses five lakh devotees. A new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) issued by the Urban Development Department outlines the framework for this initiative, which aims to provide structure and support for large-scale religious gatherings across the state.

As per the SOP, only those melas that attract at least five lakh devotees will be eligible for government funding. The state will bear the entire cost of organizing such events, including infrastructure, crowd management, sanitation, temporary facilities, and other essential services. This move is seen as a significant effort to ensure safety, hygiene, and efficient organisation of religious events, which draw massive crowds in UP every year.

To oversee the planning and execution of these melas, a committee will be formed in each district under the chairmanship of the District Magistrate (DM). The committee will include an SDM-level officer as coordinator and the Municipal Commissioner as the member secretary, along with four other nominated members.

The same committee will also be responsible for recommending whether a particular fair should be declared a “Provincial Mela”— a status that gives it further administrative recognition and support. Such a recommendation will be based on the fair’s religious, mythological, and historical significance, its duration, and its format.

The government has defined a graded financial support model based on the number of devotees. A mela with 5 to 10 lakh visitors will receive Rs 25–50 lakh; 10 to 20 lakh visitors will warrant Rs 50–75 lakh; 20 to 40 lakh visitors will receive Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1 crore; 40 to 60 lakh visitors will be allocated Rs 1 crore to Rs 1.25 crore; and melas with more than 60 lakh attendees will get Rs 1.25 crore to Rs 1.5 crore.