Implementing a poll promise, chief minister Jayalalithaa on Saturday approved an allocation of Rs. 1.25 crore towards subsidising travel of Hindu pilgrims to the holy sites of Mansarovar and Muktinath. The state government will bear Rs. 40,000 of the Rs. 1 lakh estimated per individual for air travel to Mansarovar and Rs. 10,000 towards those visiting Muktinath, one of the 108 Vaishnavite shrines. 

A total of 500 beneficiaries, 250 each for either destination, would be covered under the scheme and the chief minister has approved Rs. 1.25 crore towards this purpose for the year 2012-13, a state government release in Chennai said.

Selection of pilgrims would be done by Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowment (HR and CE) department from October 15 by issuing print advertisements. The department would select the beneficiaries under relevant guidelines, it said.

Jayalalithaa had announced subsidising pilgrimage of Christians and Hindus on the lines of the Haj