The Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue and memorial in the Arabian Sea has been finally approved as a “permissible activity“. Mantralaya sources said that since the project is environmentally sensitive, it will cost approximately Rs.2,000 crore to ensure that it does not cause any environmental damage.
Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar announced that the Maharashtra government's revised proposal for the memorial had been approved by the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF). “The road to construct the statue in the Arabian Sea is now clear.The notification will be issued shortly ,“ said Javadekar.
In January , the Maharashtra Coastal Zone Management Authority (MCZMA) had recommended to the MoEF to consider a special dispensation under the Coastal Regulation Zone Notification-2011 for the “proposal to install Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's statue and memorial in the Arabian sea as a permissible activity“.
It had also asked the MoEF to delegate powers to the MCZMA under CRZ Notification 2011 to recommend the project from a CRZ point of view to the planning authority at the state level.
The proposal put forward by the state PWD includes a 190-feet statue that is to be erected on a rocky outcrop 1.5 km from Raj Bhavan. The total area will be 15.96 hectares.
The plan, submitted to the MoEF, also comprises three levels of pedestal with museums, art galleries and recreation centres. On the mainland, there will be two jetties--the existing one at the Gateway of India and a proposed jetty at Nariman Point--to ferry passengers and commodities.
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