Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister Prithviraj Chavan today described as “historic” the Centre’s decision to hand over the 12.5 acre Indu Mill land for a state-of-the-art memorial of Dr BR Ambedkar.
The state government will bear the entire cost of the memorial project, Chavan told reporters here.
“This is a historic decision announced in Parliament. This will be an inspiration to the movement of equality and social justice,” he said.
“A separate authority will be set up for the purpose and an architect will be appointed as a consultant to prepare the blueprint for the memorial,” he said.
The authority will comprise seven members, including three from the state government and rest from the Centre, he said.
However, he refused to divulge details of expenditure for the project.
The memorial will be modelled on the basis of Mahatma Gandhi’s ‘samadhi‘ at Rajghat, he said.
“Several laws had to be amended for the land transfer so that there were no legal hurdles,” he said.
While getting environment clearance, assurance has been given that there will be no commercial activity on Indu Mill.
The Maharashtra government will henceforth take care of the land. The Union Cabinet will take a decision on the process further, the chief minister said.
A bill will have to be passed in Parliament for transfer of the land for the memorial project.
Ambedkar was a national icon who helped instill democracy in the country, Chavan added.
Union textiles minister Anand Sharma today announced in Parliament that, “The government of India has taken a view to make available this (Indu Mill) land for use to the government of Maharashtra for the construction of a befitting memorial.”
