Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's mid-sea memorial: CM Devendra Fadnavis sets deadline for required permissions

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi would lay the foundation stone of the proposed memorial of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in the Arabian Sea. The CM instructed officials to take all necessary permissions from various ministries of the union government within the next three to four months.

Fadnavis held a meeting to review the progress of the proposed mid-sea memorial, which was attended by finance minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, minister for rural development Pankaja Munde and leader of the Shiv Sangram Patry Vinayak Mete. Senior officials including chief secretary Swadheen Kshatriya, BMC commissioner Sitaram Kunte and others from environment, finance, general administration and the chief minister's office were also present.

Fadnavis instructed the officials to expedite the issue of appointing a consultant for the memorial project. He said that international firms or companies which have experience in creating such memorials should be consulted. He instructed the officials to do a follow-up of necessary permissions from the environment and other central ministries.

Earlier in the meeting, a presentation was made on the proposed memorial based. The structure would be situated atop a huge rock in the Arabian Sea at a distance of 1.5 kms from Raj Bhavan, 3.5 kms from Marine Drive and around 10 to 12 kms from the Gateway of India. The memorial will have a museum, auditorium, library, exhibition hall and an amphitheatre and a lift. A film depicting a walk-through experience was also shown during the meeting.