Memorial to fetch Rs 90 crore annually'

Mumbai: The Bombay high court on Tuesday asked the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) to file an affidavit on how it would generate revenue after the constructing the statue and memorial of Dr B.R. Ambedkar.

The MMRDA had informed the court that Maharashtra is likely to generate Rs 90 crore annually from the proposed statue of Dr B.R. Ambedkar in the metropolis.

The MMRDA’s counsel, S.B. Talekar, told the bench that the state government would be funding the project completely and the MMRDA would be an implementing agency. He also informed the court that the memorial would consist of an auditorium, garden, medication centre and have many other facilities.

In due course of time, conferences and workshops will be held, which will be visited by foreign nationals, and thus the government will raise revenue from these activities.

According to Mr Talekar, the memorial is intended to let people realise the great contribution of Dr Ambedkar towards social improvement, economics and creating the Constitution.

Mr Talekar told the bench that the proposed memorial was not a ‘wasteful’ project, as alleged in a public interest litigation (PIL) filed in the high court. “Instead, the memorial will be a major tourist attraction, and help earn the state '90 crore in revenue each year,” he said.

Mr Talekar was responding to a PIL filed by city-based activist Bhagvanji Raiyani, challenging the state government's decision to construct the memorial across a 125-acre mill plot in Dadar.

The project is likely to cost around Rs 730 crore. Mr Raiyani sought directions from the court to restrain the state government from constructing the memorial, which it alleged, posed a ‘wasteful burden’ on the state exchequer. The petitioner contended that the government should stop spending money on memorials, as the state is reeling under debt and farmers are dying every year because of drought. He sought directions from the court to allot the mill land to build amenities such as hospitals and education centres.

The bench has directed the MMRDA to file an additional affidavit and inform the court on the manner and amount of revenue that could be generated from the memorial.