Pune: The execution of the much-delayed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial (Shivsrushti) plan on the Kothrud Garbage Depot land seems to have stalled again as the same plot has been allotted for constructing the Pune Metro rail station.
Neither the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) nor the State government is able to clarify whether the Shivsrushti project will finally come up.
Five members of opposition parties in the PMC had sought a discussion on the issue at a special General Body (GB) meeting in July to find a way out in constructing the Pune Metro rail station and Shivsrushti on the same land. However, there has been no concrete discussion since. The ruling BJP on Tuesday adjourned the GB to avoid discussion on the tricky issue.
District Guardian Minister Girish Bapat held a meeting with all-party corporators in Mumbai a few days before laying the foundation stone for the Pune Metro rail route from Vanaz to Ramwadi. But that meeting ended without any conclusion.
At the foundation stone laying ceremony of that route, Bapat said Shivsrushti would be set up on bio-diversity park land in Kothrud. This upset many opposition party corporators, sensing uncertainty over the project. Shivsrushti was planned in 2009. Since then, it has been pending with the State government as the metro rail station was also planned on the over 28 acres of land.
As the General Body meeting started on Tuesday, opposition party corporators, especially Deepak Mankar who has been pushing the Shivsrushti project for a long time, demanded an explanation from the mayor.
He asked whether the project would come into existence and asked for a final decision within a month. But there is no clear signal on the project from the Urban Development Ministry held by Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis.
Mayor Mukta Tilak avoided giving any firm assurance and adjourned the meeting till November 21. She said Fadnavis would be requested to hold a meeting with all-party leaders, including former deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar.
