According to officials, the bids were received on the last date for bidding on December 20 last year.
Since then, these bids are awaiting the review by the technical committee headed by Chief Minister Ashok Chavan. The review meeting will decide on the design and look of the statue.
“We received 11 technical bids in December. The committee has to meet in order to finalise the design and technical status of the project.
After that, we will be able to start the final bidding process. As of now, we cannot say when the project will take off,” said a general administration department official.
The Maharashtra government had cleared the project in June last year after a review of the implementation of the electoral promises made by the Congress-Nationalist Congress Party coalition in 2004.
The coalition had first introduced the concept in its election manifesto for Assembly elections in 2004.
A high-powered committee chaired by former chief minister Vilasrao Deshmukh had decided to shift the proposed statue to Marine Drive from near the Gateway of India. The state government had introduced the concept in its yearly budget in February 2008 with an allocation of Rs 100 crore, though officials say the final cost could rise up to Rs 200 crore.
Conceptualised by the government to stand four feet taller than the Statue of Liberty in New York, the blueprint for the statue has been drawn up by the Public Works Department (PWD). As per plans laid out by the PWD, the Shivaji statue will come up a kilometre into the sea from the Marine Drive, nestled between Nariman Point and Malabar Hill on a six-acre patch of reclaimed land. The architects will have to submit detailed designs for the statue on a pedestal, which would have a total height of 309 ft.
Located centrally at the base of the statue will be an amphitheatre for light and sound shows with six foot-high walls on the periphery, depicting murals on Shivaji’s life. Also at the base of the statue will be a cafeteria for visitors, a garden and a museum showcasing the history of the period through literature and relics.
The participating architects will have to base their designs as per the recommendations of the technical committee.
URL: Indian Express, (Mumbai Newsline – Page No 1)