Maharashtra govt clears 100 crore for Shivaji statue.

Maharashtra government allocated Rs. 100 crore for a statue of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji to be erected in the Arabian Sea. The allocation was cleared by the state cabinet recently.

The statue, conceived as a memorial along the lines of the Statue of Liberty, was initially promised by the Congress-NCP government in its 2004 election manifesto. By 2009, the cost for the venture was estimated to be Rs. 350 crore. The state has identified a 16 hectare area in the sea for the project, off Marine Drive.

'This will be the tallest statue of Shivaji. The former environment minister had given an in-principle approval to the project. We have prepared a project report and will be applying to the environment ministry for an exemption since the statue falls within the Coastal Regulation Zone,' Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan said.

The Hindu