More than $300 million in projects were announced this year for the country’s cities and towns, but the majority of them were for heritage properties.
The total number of projects worth $7.7 billion is the most ever in a single calendar year and the highest figure since the early 1990s, when more than $8.7 trillion was awarded to cities and municipalities.
The government announced new investments for the National Parks, Rivers, Lakes and Coastal Areas Authority (NPRA) in November, including a new $10 billion park complex in Delhi.
It also allocated $1 billion for a second park, in Mumbai.
It is also boosting the number of government parks to 1,000 and increasing the number from 1,400 to 1.2 million.
More than $500 million worth of new infrastructure projects are planned, including $2 billion for new roads and $200 million for the construction of the Delhi-Sikh Highway.
It also announced new projects worth an estimated $1.2 billion to help farmers in the drought-stricken country.
The NPA also announced a new national parks and conservancies fund worth $250 million, which is part of a $2.8 billion package for parks and reserves across the country.
In a statement, the ministry said it was “delivering an ambitious national program of land acquisition and rehabilitation, conservation and regeneration to support farmers and restore biodiversity in the country”.
The new investment is aimed at helping farmers in drought-affected areas and protecting the natural resources and biodiversity, the statement added.
The ministry also announced the creation of the National Land Conservation Authority to manage national parks, waterways and forest areas.
The country has more than 2,200 national parks but only 17 are managed by the NPA.