State plans to charge visitors of Shivaji Maharaj memorial

Mumbai: The state government  on Thursday told the Bombay high court that it was considering levying charges on visitors to the proposed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj memorial in the Arabian Sea to recover part of the project cost of Rs 3,600 crore.

A division bench of Chi-ef Justice N.H. Patil and Justice G.S. Kulkarni was hearing petitions filed ag-ainst the proposed Shivaji statue in the Arabian Sea. The petitions criticised the government for spending Rs 3,600 crore on the memorial even though the state was reeling under a drought-like situation and facing several more pressing issues.

Senior counsel V.A. Thorat, appearing for the state government, said, “The government is considering charging people who wish to visit the statue. This way, the government can recover part of the project cost. A decision on this is yet to be ta-ken.” He also said that the government had examin-ed each and every aspect, including safety and environmental issues, before beginning work.

Advocate Thorat said th-at a disaster management and evacuation plan was also in place. “All environmental clearances have been given for the project. In fact, on June 15 this ye-ar, the Coastal Regulation Zone authority has given government permission to increase the height of the statue from 192 metres to 210 metres,” he said.

“In June, the governm-ent entered into an agreement with Larsen and To-ubro for the project. Work has commenced and the project is expected to be completed in 36 months,” he said.

Senior counsel Mihir Desai, appearing for one of the petitioners, said that over 16,000 fishermen were affected as area aro-und the proposed statue was declared a no-fishing zone.