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The Maharashtra government on Wednesday cleared a proposal to construct Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji's statue in Mumbai. As a beginning the state cabinet at its meeting held on Wednesday approved an allocation of Rs 100 crore to complete initial formalities. Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan however, declined to give further details with regard to the exact project cost.
He claimed that the proposed Shivaji statue will be the tallest one. The Congress-NCP government in Maharashtra proposes to project the Shivaji statue against the rival project of as one of the leading planks in the run up to the Lok Sabha polls. Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel's 'Statue of Unity', which is expected to come up on Sadhu Bet island on the banks of the Narmada river would cost around Rs 2,400 crore.
He said that the in principle approval was given last year by the former union minister for environment and forests Jayanti Natarajan. According to Chavan, further approvals will be sought especially with regard to coastal zone regulations.
The state government in the year 2009 had unveiled the digital design of this project. The proposal was for the construction of a 300-foot statue in Mumbai.
Chavan said the location in the Arabean sea has also been cleared. The statue will be constructed on an artificial island a kilometre away in the Arabian Sea off the Marin Lines-Chowpati shore of Mumbai. He informed that the government will invite invite global tenders for its construction.
