State working on formalities for Balasaheb Thackeray memorial

Minister of state for urban development department Ranjit Patil on Thursday has assured members in the Legislative Council that the formalities for building a memorial of late Shiv Sena chief Balasaheb Thackeray would be completed within a year. The minister said that the proposed memorial at mayor’s bungalow at Shivaji Park would need coastal regulation zone (CRZ) and heritage committee clearances. However, he said that getting these clearances would not be a major issue.

“A trust will be set up on the lines of the Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan trust. This trust will include members from the government and other organisations and it will look after the administration and maintenance of the memorial. The development draft will be prepared within a year. The memorial will need CRZ and heritage committee clearances. However, we are confident that there will be not any issue in getting both the clearances. The government has earmarked Rs 1 crore for the memorial this year. Whatever funds will be required in future will also be made available,” Mr Patil said.

The public trust — the Hinduhridaysamrat Balasaheb Smarak Samiti — that will look after the memorial will be headed by Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray.

The minister was replying to a calling attention motion moved by Shiv Sena legislator Neelam Gorhe who said that there has been no development on the issue even after it was announced by chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on the occasion of the third death anniversary of Balasaheb Thackeray in November last year.

The process for registration of this trust is on.

He also informed the state Assembly that after the trust was officially registered, it would work on the lines of Yashwantrao Chavan Pratishthan trust as the spot for the memorial has already been identified.

The memorial is proposed at the mayor’s bungalow, which was built in 1928 near the Dadar chowpatty. It is a grade two heritage structure built on a on a four-acre plot. It is the official residence of the mayor of Mumbai since 1962.

The ground plus one structure is a 4,500 square feet bungalow with two halls, a VIP room and a kitchen on the ground floor and four bedrooms on the first.