Union environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan will inspect the proposed site for the Shivaji monument in the Arabian Sea on April 2, chief minister Prithviraj Chavan informed in the legislative council. He also assured the House that the government would spend the funds required for the construction of the monument. The issue of the Shivaji memorial was once again raised in the legislative council during the question hour. Replying to the question, the CM said that the Union environment minister would be coming to the city on April 2 to take stock of the situation, before giving clearance for the construction of the memorial in the Arabian Sea. The government has appointed a high-power committee headed by Mumbai’s guardian minister Jayant Patil, which has been appointed by the government to prepare a report to facilitate the construction of the memorial. Mr Chavan also assured the members that there would not be shortage of funds for the construction of the memorial. He further said that the government is in the process of appointing a “project management consultant” who would study the details of the project and would coordinate with other agencies. “The government administra-tive department will do the monitoring,” he said. Shiv Sena leader Ramdas Kadam pointed out that construction of the memorial is pending for long even though the government had thrice made budgetary provision for it and it was mentioned in the governor’s speech for seven years. He demanded that the government should not only make budgetary provisions, but also inform when construction work would commence. However, the CM did not specify by when the work would begin. As many as 47 permissions of various departments will be required to start the project. As of now, only three permissions have been obtained.
