New Delhi, March 17: The Ajmer dargah is all set to leap into the future, thanks to the urban development ministry.

The municipal council in Ajmer has submitted a plan under the Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission to spruce up the surroundings of the Rajasthan shrine, one of India’s most secular places of worship.

The Rs 38.41-crore project — cleared by the Centre’s sanctioning and monitoring committee last month — will provide better amenities to lakhs of devotees who throng the shrine.

The dargah, a far cry from the mosque where Hrithik Roshan prays in Jodhaa Akbar, has over the centuries evolved into a bustling heritage precinct. But most of the development has been haphazard and unplanned. The biggest problem the area faces, the Ajmer civic body claims, is poor sanitation and drainage. During monsoon, officials say, the place is flooded.