We are not pressing for money. After all, it was all for a good cause — Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's memorial. Even if the state government gives us Re1, we would accept it, Gangwar said on Thursday.
Union textile minister Santosh Gangwar on Thursday gave a breather to the Maharashtra government by suggesting that the Centre might not press for money in return for the defunct Indu Mill land that was given to the state last year to build a grand memorial for Dr BR Ambedkar.
The 12-acre plot, which was in possession of the National Textile Corporation (NTC), a Government of India undertaking, was handed over to the state in October 2015. There were reports about the compensation for the same in the form of land or cash, but both the NTC and state have stayed mum on the issue till date.
"We are not pressing for money. After all, it was all for a good cause — Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar's memorial. Even if the state government gives us Re1, we would accept it," Gangwar said on Thursday.
He was replying to a question that media persons asked him on the sidelines of the Make in India Week in Mumbai. Gangwar said his ministry is not discussing the matter with the state at present. "I don't have any idea about what formula the state is working on to compensate the NTC on the Indu Mill land transfer," he said.
Gangwar's remarks clearly suggest that the state can keep the land in the plum Dadar area, worth Rs1,800 crore, as a 'gift' from the centre in the name of the memorial without paying a penny to the NTC. Observers termed the move as 'Dalit politics' at the cost of taxpayers' money.
The government had offered to compensate the NTC with transferable development rights worth Rs1,300 crore for the unutilised built-up potential of the plot as an option to generate funds. The NTC has pegged the land's worth at Rs1,800 crore and is still pushing for compensation in cash. The stalemate continued and the issue was then put in cold storage.
The construction of Ambedkar's memorial is expected to cost the state exchequer a total of Rs425 crore. Architectural firm Shashi Prabhu & Associates has been hired for its construction, which will take three years. The firm estimates that it will cost Rs350 crore.
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