Mumbai

Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Saturday said all efforts will be made to complete the grand memorial of Babasaheb Ambedkar at Indu Mill in Mumbai’s Dadar area by December 6 next year.

He was speaking at a function at Chaityabhoomi on the 69th Mahaparinirvan Day of the Constitution architect.

“Construction work is ongoing, and all efforts will be taken to complete it by December 6 next year,” the CM said.

The Maharashtra government had in 2013 appointed the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority as the Special Planning Authority for the 4.84-hectare memorial site. The ‘bhoomi pujan’ was held on October 11, 2015, by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The memorial is designed as a ‘Shanti Sthala’ with gardens reflecting Ambedkar’s spirit, featuring a massive bronze-clad statue. The complex will include a 1,000-seat auditorium, lecture halls, library, conference halls, meditation centre, Parikrama Path, administrative offices, and parking facilities.

In May 2022, a cabinet sub-committee under the Minister of Social Justice and Special Assistance was set up to coordinate the memorial’s construction.

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The site is near Chaityabhoomi, where lakhs of followers gather annually on December 6 to mark Ambedkar’s death anniversary. He passed away on this day in 1956.