The state has three weeks to reply with a detailed account of how it plans to raise funds to build the ambitious Rs 3,600-crore statue in the Arabian Sea
Representational Pic Illustration/Uday Mohite
The Bombay High Court has asked a question that is on everyone's mind - from where will the government get Rs 3,600 crore to build the controversial Shivaji Smarak in the Arabian Sea?
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State in debt
The high court is hearing a PIL brought by Vile Parle resident, Mohan Bhide, who pointed out that the state government's has already racked up debts of Rs 4 lakh crore, and the government should now concentrate on resolving issues like malnutrition, load shedding, and uncompleted dams that have created a drought-like situation in state. Bhide, who is a professor and proprietor of Bhide-Kapasi Commerce Classes and Bhide Classes, stated that while he has great respect and honour for Shivaji Maharaj, he is against the spending of such a huge amount of taxpayers money on a memorial, that too by damaging the environment. He suggested that the government instead focus on the upkeep of Shivaji's various forts, which are in a bad condition.
Cost will escalate
The government had spent around Rs 77 crore on just promoting the statue when Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone in December. Bhide pointed out that the ambitious mid-sea memorial will likely cost more than the state's estimate or Rs 3,600 crore - based on the government's track record with projects, he cautioned that the cost may escalate by as much as 50%.
The state government has not made any allocation in the annual budget for the statue. A bench of Chief Justice Manjula Chellur and Girish Kulkarni asked the state government to reply within three weeks on where it plans to bring the funds from. "We want details on where you plan to generate huge funds from within three weeks," said Chief Justice Chellur.
The court had in the last hearing told the petitioner "Have you seen Kanyakumari statue in Tamil Nadu or the statue of Buddha statue in Hussain Sagar? If those states can afford it, we are sure the Maharashtra government is richer; even they can afford it."
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