PMC sanctions Rs3 crore for Shivaji statue at NDA

The Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) on Thursday expedited the plan to install a statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj at the National Defence Academy (NDA), Khadakwasla. The standing committee sanctioned Rs3 crore for the project.

DNA had highlighted the issue on December 12,

‘Shivaji statue at NDA stuck in red tape’. There was an uproar over the issue in the general body, with corporators criticising the civic administration for dragging its feet.

Shiv Sena leaders Sham Deshpande and Mahadev Babar, NCP leader Rajlakshmi Bhosale, MNS leader Ravindra Dhangekar and independent corporator Ujwal Keskar flayed the officials for not speeding up the plan.

The issue was raised in the standing committee meeting headed by chairman Arvind Shinde, who said they sanctioned Rs3 crore for building a pedestal and a garden in the NDA. Shinde said municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade had discussed the issue with the NDA authorities.

The absence of a Shivaji statue is conspicuous at the premier defence institute, as it already has several statues of great warriors such as Maharana Pratap, Rani Laxmibai and Maharaja Ranjit Singh, besides the statues of gallantry award winners, which were presented to the NDA by various state governments.

As per the defence ministry’s policy, the NDA does not install statues on its own but accepts them in gifts from state governments.

Lt Col (retd) BC Joglekar had noticed the absence of a Shivaji statue during his stint at the NDA. He took the initiative after retirement from the army in 2004.

Failing to get a response from the state government, Joglekar approached the PMC, which promised to sponsor the plan. Former mayor Rajlakshmi Bhosale and former standing committee chairman Sham Deshpande took the lead in the matter.

The NDA had earmarked a piece of land for Shivaji’s statue. Its administration had sent a detailed cost estimate of the project to the PMC.

The PMC on its part appointed famous sculptor Nilesh Khedkar to ready the statue. Khedkar told DNA that the statue was ready.