Mumbai: While the state government squarely holds the Navy responsible for the decision to install the Chhatrapati Shivaji statue near Sindhudurg Fort, and the defence wing maintaining a silence on it, what is being looked over is the policy that clears many things for the approval of a statue.
The incidence of Chh. Shivaji statue collapse on Monday has stirred the state machinery forcing the PWD to lodge an FIR against the sculptor and the structural consultant. A political blame game is also on in which the ruling Mahayuti has said that the decision was that of the Navy which is not forthcoming to clear the air.
The silence has raised several issues such as who gave an approval for the site, what testings were done and by whom, who supervised the selection of the sculptor, its module, the stability aspect and most importantly what role a committee under the district collector played while scrutinizing the proposal.
Details On 2017 Govt Policy
According to the government policy for erecting a statue, issued in May 2017, the district committee headed by the collector which comprises chief of the local body, the district police chief, the superintending engineer of the PWD and the residential deputy collector (RDC) who officiates as the member secretary.
Each application for installing a statue needs to have a site plan, measurements of the pedestal, details of the mettle to be used, weight, height and colour of the statue, along with the approval given by the state architect or the designated authority. Also an approval for the clay model by the state directorate of the arts is mandatory, says the policy.
The local police is mandated to provide its no-objection certificate that no issue of law and order is expected to arise in future.
Of the 31 guidelines prescribed in the policy, an agency be it a government or non-government organization, needs to be scrutinized by the district collector along with an undertaking from the concerned entity that will take responsibility for the upkeep of the statue and the surrounding area.
Only after the clear recommendation by the committee permission is to be given to the district collector for installing the statue, says the state policy.
Questions Arises, Who Is At Fault?
Now the question arises what role the Sindhudurg collector and the committee under him played while approving the proposal to install the Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj statue. Curiously, the officials from the state government as well from the Navy are refusing to come on record.
The PWD has at the insistence of the government registered an FIR against the sculptor and his associate but questions are being raised who played an active role in the whole process. What the district collector has to say on the issue and who submitted the required documents for the approval by the committee.
