Project will take two-and-a-half years to be ready and it will come up on 336 acres near the dam

The State government is all set to float a global tender in a month to develop Brindavan Gardens on the lines of Disneyland in the U.S.

Water Resources Minister D.K. Shivakumar announced this on Saturday after inspecting the project site near Krishnaraja Sagar (KRS) along with his Cabinet colleagues and senior officials.

The Minister told presspersons that project will be taken up under the PPP model and the State government will not invest “even a single rupee” for the project which is estimated to cost ₹1,425 crore.

The project will take two-and-a-half years to complete and will come up in 336 acres of government land located in several blocks near the KRS dam. The ownership of the land will remain with the State government, he said.

The Minister said a committee, headed by Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy, will seek guidance on the project. MLAs and Ministers from Mandya, Mysuru, Chamarajanagar, technical experts, the erstwhile Mysuru royal family, representatives from the Mysore University will be part of the the committee.

The Minister also reiterated that the safety of KRS dam will not be compromised at any cost while implementing the project.

Earlier, the State government had announced a 60-metre Goddess Cauvery statute will be built on a museum tower near KRS. Now it looks as if the government has second thoughts on it.

Mr. Shivakumar said that the government is yet to decide on whether the statue will be that of Goddess Cauvery or Nalwadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar.

The Minister said that a decision will be taken after going through various levels of consultation. As per the plan prepared, the statue will be built 750 metres away from the dam. The masterplan has a proposal to build a lake that will allow tourists to reach the statue and museum in a boat.

The total length — museum and statue — will be 120 metres.

On spending crores for building the statue, the Minister said: “Unlike the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel statue, where the government spent ₹3,000 crore, for this one, the State government will not spend any money. The contractor will bear the entire project cost.”

The other features of the project include upgrading Brindavan Garden with world-class fountains, and vast botanical gardens.

The masterplan, prepared by the consultant, also plans to build India’s first penguin zoo in the garden.

In addition to this, a street showcasing important architecture marvels of Karnataka, a wax museum, aroma garden and a tall glass castle which will showcase laser fireworks, are also planned.