Work on Modi's pet project yet to begin, but Rs. 27.6 cr already spent.

On the ambitious Statue of Unity project, Rs. 27.6 crore has been spent so far, even as the actual construction work on the 182-metre-tall statue is likely to begin after monsoon this year. Of this, Rs. 23.6 crore has been spent on a consortium of global consultancy services providing company, which was hired in August 2012 to provide design, engineering, project management and construction management services for the statue.

State Finance Minister Saurabh Patel announced a fund of Rs. 500 crore for the project in the 2014-15 Budget other than Rs 100 crore allocated in the 2012-13 Budget. Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley offered Rs. 200 crore apart from declaring it a 'National Project' during the Budget presented on July 10. The project is likely to cost in the upward of Rs. 3,000 crore. Recently, infrastructure major, L&T Limited, won the bid to construct and maintain the statue for Rs. 2,980 crore.

Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust has been managing activities related to the construction of the Statue of Unity since 2011, which include hiring global consultants and overseeing creation of a website and a 'high-impact audio-visual multimedia presentation in multiple languages for the project'.


THE INDIAN EXPRESS