The estimated cost of the proposed grand memorial of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Indu Mill has gone up from Rs425 crore to nearly Rs900 crore even as its construction is yet to begin. Reason: Inclusion of a giant bronze statue of Ambedkar — a 350 feet tall structure which will be called as 'Statue of Equality' to mark the contribution of the Dalit icon who fought against social injustice.
"This statue of equality would be taller than the 'Statute of Liberty' in the US which is 330 ft tall," said a top official from the social justice department.
The statue is the brain child of the social justice minister Rajkumar Badole. Ambedkarites want it to name as 'Statue of Equality', something on the lines of 'Statue of Unity' — the name coined for Patel's statue. Badole recently submitted a fresh design of the memorial to chief minister Devendra Fadnavis. Fadnavis is yet to approve it.
Prime minister Narendra Modi had performed the Bhumi Poojan of the memorial in October last year. Things have not moved an inch since then as the state is yet to get possession of the 12 acre land of Indu Mill-6 at Dadar which is still under National Textile Corporation's possession.
While Badole remained unreachable, architect for the project Shashi Prabhu confirmed the inclusion of a 350 ft (120 m) tall bronze statute and also the possible escalation of the cost. However, he refused to cite the figure and insisted that the design is pending for approval.
"Since no company in India has the expertise to make such a big bronze statute, we have to get it done from China. It's not possible to speculate the cost. It could be Rs300 crore to Rs500 crore or even more," said Prabhu.
The original design had a huge stupa like dome around a pond, topped by 24 stone ribs.
In the new model, the grand statue replaces the dome. It would be surrounded by a skywalk cum viewing deck. Besides, lotus-shaped floating library, auditorium, mediation space, museum, open air plaza for light and sound shows would be other major attractions.
Atul Prabhu, partner in the Shashi Prabhu associates, said, "The entire memorial site is conceived as oasis of calm featuring various gardened spaces that reflect the spirit and the persona of the great leader."
"The sea front is proposed to be developed in to a beautiful promenade where public can spend their evenings taking a stroll or simply sit and enjoy the view by the sea. The waterfront is visualised as an extension of the stretch linking it all the way up to The Chaitya blooming site," added Atul.
