More than 11 years after the state government issued a notification for a grand memorial to Babasaheb Ambedkar at Dadar, the project has been delayed for various reasons, including paucity of funds and modification in design. The project is 47% complete, according to MMRDA. A new deadline of 31 December, 2025, has been announced for the project.
The Rs 1089-crore project on 4.84 hectares formerly belonging to the defunct Indu Mills Number 6, is being implemented by private agencies appointed by Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority which is the Special Planning Authority. It will feature a 450 feet-high monument, comprising a 350 feet-tall statue clad in 870 tonnes of bronze and a 100 feet-high pedestal housing a dome. An auditorium, exhibition halls, research centre, library, meditation centre, and a parikrama or a circumambulation path, viewing gallery, and basement parking are part of the complex. The statue will be the second tallest in the country after the Statue of Unity, the memorial to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, in Gujarat.
The MMRDA spokesperson did not reveal the reasons for the delay, but said that different parts of the complex are under various stages of development. “While 47% work on the complex is complete, 52.2% of the memorial is complete. The entrance gate is 88% complete and 95% of the work on the basement is complete,” the spokesperson shared in a statement.
Gate | image accessed by FPJ
Comparison with other statues | Image accessed by FPJ
Feet of the statue | Image accessed by FPJ
Current construction photo | Image accessed by FPJ
Image of the proposed monument | Image accessed by FPJ
The delay in the project has been criticised by followers of Ambedkar. Milind Kamble, NCP MLA from Kurla between 2009 and 2014, said, “It is sad that the memorial to the man who gave the country its Constitution has been delayed so much. The country is being run on his ideas. This is the 68th Mahaparinirvan day of Babasaheb Ambedkar. The government should have announced at least today that the memorial will not be delayed anymore,” said Kamble.
Satish Rajguru, who contested as a candidate for the Vanchhit Bahujan Aghadi from Anushakti Nagar in the November elections to the state assembly, blamed petty politics for the delay. “Shortage of funds cannot be the reason for the delay because bigger and more expensive projects that were announced after the memorial, like the Atal Setu and the Samruddhi Highway, have been completed. Governments want to keep the promise of the memorial dangling in the hope that people continue to vote for them. They do not want to complete projects in time. Did they not know about the likely hurdles when they announced the project?” asked Rajguru.
Timeline of the project
March 19, 2013: Notification issued by Maharashtra government for the memorial
April 29, 2013: Second notification issued with details of the project.
October 11, 2015: Ground-breaking Bhoomi ceremony held at the hands of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
March 25, 2017: National Textile Corporation of India handed over the Indu Mill land to the Government of Maharashtra in lieu of TDR. MMRDA takes its possession on behalf of the Government of Maharashtra.
February 9, 2018: After tenders, work handed over to Shapoorji Pallonji
January 15, 2020: Revised conceptual proposal presented before the state cabinet to discuss the government’s decision to increase the height of the monument from 350 feet to 450 feet.
May 9, 2022: Government GR constituted a Cabinet Sub Committee under the chairmanship of Minister, Social Justice and Special Assistance for coordinating the work of the memorial.
