Stating that the foundation-laying ceremony of the proposed Shivsmarak or the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj memorial at Arabian sea would be held in November. This was announced on Friday by Vinayak Mete, MLC and chairman for the committee to implement the memorial. Prime mnister Narendra Modi would lay the foundation stone, he added.
Mete’s outfit Shiv Sangram, which is still waiting for recognition as a political party, supports the BJP-led government in the state. Mete was made MLC after the change of guards in the state in 2014.
Mete informed that the government has decided to call for fresh tenders for awarding the contract for the Project Management Consultant since the earlier firm admitted that there were a few mistakes while bidding and hence it withdrew from the contract. Mete informed that the firm, Pentacle, has been banned from fresh bidding and its deposit of Rs5 lakh has been seized by the government.
Mete informed that the Norr Group from Canada, however, has not been banned from fresh bidding. He said that while inviting fresh bids, which would have a deadline of September 5, have to abide by the condition that the prime bidder company has to have 51% stakes in the joint venture, if any, and the firm should have adequate skilled manpower to carry out the project.
Mete pointed out that if the bidder company claims to have accomplished international projects before, it should have manpower comparable to the claimed project while undertaking the memorial project.
Mete informed that chief minister Devendra Fadnavis would be meeting the prime minister for an appointment for the foundation-laying ceremony. He informed that as per the PM’s available date in November, the foundation-laying ceremony would be held in November 2015.
The Rs1,900 crore project of the memorial at sea would have a mammoth statue of Shivaji Maharaj riding a horse. It would also have a museum which would provide the entire history of Shivaji Maharaj. There would be an aquarium as well.
