But 'credit crunch' doesn't seem to scare state bosses in Uttar Pradesh, India, who have blown £225 million on a massive marble elephant sculpture.

Dubbed the new Taj Mahal, chief minister Kumari Mayawati has created a 20ft high statue of herself surrounded by giant elephants and gods in Lucknow, the state capital.

The crackpot politician, who hired a workforce of 3,350 to create the statue, says her inspiration came from her idols - Stalin and Saddam Hussein.

"I always feel that memorials should be built during the lifetime of icons," she explained.

Mayawati and other leaders from her BSP party - founded to represent the country's poorest citizens, the Daltis - will be surrounded by 70 huge elephants in the sculpture, due to be completed by the middle of 2010.