According to the Times of India report dated 11
August 2010, Gujarat Chief minister Narendra Modi is learnt to have
approved a proposal, floated by Sardar Sarovar Narmada Nigam Ltd (SSNNL)
Chairman D Rajagopalan, to construct the world’s tallest 180 metres
statue, of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, in the Narmada river, near the
Narmada dam.
The statue, according to TOI report will be 40 metres higher than the
dam’s full reservoir level, 138.64 metres, and eight metres taller
than the earth’s highest statue of Crazy Horse Memorial sculpture being
carved in Mount Rushmore, South Dakota, a state in north central US.
Ahmedabad based Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology(CEPT) University will carry out a detailed study of the topography of the river and report if such a huge structure can be installed there. It has to have a very wide base and would have to be connected with a bridge so that tourists could reach up to the statue, said an official. “According to the presentation, there would have to be a lift that will carry tourists right to the top in order to see the dam from afar, according to report.
Ahmedabad based Centre for Environmental Planning and Technology(CEPT) University will carry out a detailed study of the topography of the river and report if such a huge structure can be installed there. It has to have a very wide base and would have to be connected with a bridge so that tourists could reach up to the statue, said an official. “According to the presentation, there would have to be a lift that will carry tourists right to the top in order to see the dam from afar, according to report.
While officials in the SSNNL claimed money may not be a problem, a
top aide of chief minister Narendra Modi said, "One has to take into
account cost escalation while building such kind of a statue. It is
possible that by the time the state government floats tenders, the cost
of the project would have escalated to Rs 2,500 crore".
The
Gujarat government has collected Rs 55 crore for the high-profile
project. Of this, Rs 50 crore has been collected from different state
public sector undertakings, while Rs 5 crore has been contributed by
Adani group. The PSUs have provided money from their corporate social
responsibility funds.
Called Statue of Unity, to be built on
Sadhu island which is about 3.5 km downstream of Narmada dam, the state
government has formed Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust to
implement the project.
As per the official note, the consultant
will be required to do overall area planning, including spaces for
hospitality, health, education, convention and training centres,
development and formulation of tourism plan and provide technical and
managerial assistance for bids to invite EPC contract.
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