Mumbai: Fishermen groups oppose site shortlisted for Shivaji Memorial

MUMBAI: Fishermen groups in Mumbai have opposed the site shortlisted for the proposed Shivaji memorial once again. They said that the site for the project is a marine habitat and a breeding ground for several sea animals.

Damodar Tandel president of the Akhil Maharashtra Machimar Kriti Samiti (AMMKS) said that the government claims to have received all the 12 no-objection certificate (NOC)'s from all the agencies, but the NOC's are conditional and were given for the project when it was 192 metres in height.

The state government re-worked the project to 210 metres to make it the tallest in the world and these NOC's are null and void. "The government must go in for fresh NOC's as the entire structure of the project has changed," said Tandel. He has objected that their case against the memorial site is pending in the national green tribunal and despite this the government has gone ahead and allotted the tender to Larson and Turbo. "Many factors have been ignored by the state before awarding the tender," said Tandel.

Explaining why the site is being opposed, Marine life enthusiast, Pradip Patade, who is a co-petitioner in the NGT case, said that against the government claims the site is not an outcrop, it is a marshy land, stones which has corals and rich marine habitat. "In the right season, there are at least 50 boats around the site to fish for lobsters," said Patade who is also one of the founder of Marine life of Mumbai that organises marine walks.

The state government after a delay of one year had awarded the contract for the project to L&T at the cost of Rs 2500 crore plus taxes. "Does the state even have the funds to execute the project. They are just using Shivaji's name for garnering votes, which is unacceptable to us," said Tandel.