MUMBAI: Maharashtra public works minister Ashok Chavan on Monday squarely blamed the previous Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government for the delay in construction of the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial in the Arabian Sea.
Chavan, replying to a question, said there were three petitions filed in the Supreme Court against the memorial — including the “failure” to hold public hearings, “no study” carried out on marine biodiversity at the site chosen for the memorial and “insufficient information” provided to the Centre for the Environment Clearance.
The issue was raised through a Calling Attention Motion by MLC Vinayak Mete who sought to know why a one-year extension was granted to the contractor Larsen & Toubro.
“I would say that the previous governments did not do due diligence. The Supreme Court has granted a stay and we cannot go against the court order. The matters have been transferred to the Bombay high court and we are complying with all that involves nine departments. The pandemic too affected court hearings,” he said.
Chavan said there was no cost escalation in granting the extension.
“Had we terminated the contract and recalled again, a lot of time would have been lost hence we decided to grant extension. We are trying to expedite the court hearings and once this is complete we shall see how to reduce the construction period from the current three years,” he said.
