mumbai

Updated: Mar 20, 2018 01:33 IST

The proposed memorial for Dr BR Ambedkar will be implemented in two phases and will be ready in three years, the state government said on Monday. The Rs709-crore memorial will come up on Mumbai’s sea-front at Indu Mills in Dadar, a stone’s throw from Chaityabhoomi where Ambedkar’s ashes were interred, across an area of 4.84 hectare.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was responding to a calling-attention motion raised by Sharad Ranpise (Congress) on the progress of the Ambedkar memorial. Ranpise said that there has been no progress on the government’s plan despite the foundation laying ceremony in October 2016. Fadnavis said that the work order for the project had been awarded in February and the entire project will be completed in 36 months.

“As per the contract awarded to the company, the construction time mentioned is three years. Main components of the memorial will be visible in two years, while the remaining work will be completed in the following one year,” Fadnavis said.

Fadnavis said that there were issues with securing permissions as the project falls under the Coastal Regulatory Zone (CRZ). He added that the implementing agency of the project invited bids for the project, but on all three occasions there was only one bidder.

Shapoorji Pallonji Group was awarded the project on February 9, 2018. As per the contract, they will construct a 350-feet bronze statue of Ambedkar. The plan also includes a commemorative stupa, an auditorium, an assembly hall, a museum, a library, a landscaped garden and parking spaces.