Bhopal:
The construction work of 108-foot- high statue of Adi Shankaracharya to be built on a 54-foot-tall platform in Omkareshwar in Khandwa district has been stayed. A division bench headed by Chief Justice Ravi Malimath and Justice Vishal Mishra has also issued a notice to the state government and sought a response in view of the damage to nature and neglect of the local public faith.
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The court’s decision came during the hearing of a petition challenging the construction of the ‘Statue of Oneness’ (Adi Shankaracharya). The construction of the statue was an ambitious project of the BJP-led state government.
An NGO Lokhit Abhiyan Samiti opposed the cutting of trees and digging up of the mountain. During the hearing, the counsellor appearing for the NGO argued that ‘cutting of number of trees and digging of the mountain for construction of the statue would damage natural beauty of the area’. The court also summoned a reply from the Khandwa Collector, DFO and Revenue Officer and the State Archaeological Department.
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The Shivraj Soingh Chouhan-led government approved the statue being constructed under the supervision of the MP’s culture and tourism department on Mandhata Parvat hill facing the Narmada in Khandwa. The cost of the project is 2, 221 crore.
