BIGGEST SHIVAJI MAHARAJ STATUE IN THE WORLD

BIGGEST SHIVAJI MAHARAJ STATUE IN THE WORLD

The proposed equestrian statue of warrior king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea may tower a few metres higher on the Mumbai skyline to make it the world’s tallest.

Senior state government officials confirmed that they have gone back to the drawing board to ensure that the memorial, which is expected to cost Rs 3,700 crore to develop, rises to a height of 210 metres as against the proposed 192 metres.

This may, however, push up the costs from the present estimate.

The revised plan will ensure that the statue, whose foundation was laid by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in December, is two metres taller than the Spring Temple Buddha in China’s Henan province. This is currently the world’s tallest statue. Officials said the hill on which the statue of Vairocana Buddha is built was reshaped to increase its height to 208 metres.

The Shivaji Maharaj statue will come up on a 15.96 hectare rocky basalt outcrop in the Arabian Sea, 1.2 km south west of Raj Bhavan.

Three infrastructure majors are in the fray for the contract.

A senior official from the Public Works Department (PWD) confirmed that the plan to increase the height of the statue to 210 metres was being considered to ensure that the memorial was taller than the Buddha statue. “We want the memorial to be taller... The present tender mentions a height of 192 metres but we have a condition allowing us to increase the height further with the successful bidder being paid on a pro-rata basis,” he said.

The official added that the revised proposal with details of the height increase would be sent for environment clearance after consulting the successful bidder.

MLC Vinayak Mete, who heads the committee set up by the state government to monitor the implementation of the project, confirmed that a proposal to increase the height was being considered.

An official said the height of the statue’s pedestal, horse or sword could be increased to add extra metres to it. He added that while the successful bidder was likely to be shortlisted in April after evaluating the technical and financial bids, the work, which has a 36-month completion period, was expected to begin this year.

The statue will be made of a bronze alloy to withstand the saline marine environment, corrosion and wind pressure.

“Though we expect the memorial to cost Rs 3,700 crore in two phases, including the Rs 2,500 crore first phase tenders for which have been floated, the final price depends on the bidders. However, there are no provisions for cost escalation and the successful bidder will have to enter into futures contracts for supply of material to protect against any price rise,” the official said.

Apart from a strong security presence, the memorial will have landscaped gardens, two jetties, library, helipad, medical amenities, amphitheatre and museum.

Another PWD official said that they would develop around 10 hectare on the rock for the memorial and facilities in two phases.

Mete said the memorial would serve as a new tourist magnet in an open space-starved city and they expected a huge inflow of domestic and foreign visitors, which will ensure that costs would be recovered in a decade.

The state plans to start ferry services from Colaba, Nariman Point, Navi Mumbai and Versova for the memorial and during the construction period, material will be transported via sea to prevent road traffic from being affected.