Memorial of Shaheed Rajguru, Who Sacrificed His Life for Freedom, Will Be an Inspiration – Cultural Affairs Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar

Mumbai : The contribution of Martyr Shivram Hari Rajguru to the freedom struggle is unparalleled. Cultural Affairs Minister Sudhir Mungantiwar, while presenting the progress report on the development plan to complete the development of Rajgurunagar Birthplace area by 31st March 2026, expressed his belief that the memorial to be built at Rajgurunagar will be a center of inspiration for the citizens of the country, ensuring that the new generation remembers Rajguru’s sacrifice for the freedom of Mother India.

Assuring that there will be no shortage of funds for this memorial, Minister Mungantiwar stated that the government is committed to fulfilling the promise made in the budget session on March 13, 2023, and that the work on the memorial development is in progress. He mentioned that a committee with select members has been constituted under the chairmanship of the Divisional Commissioner of Pune to conduct a comprehensive study on this matter. To expedite this work, instructions have been given to take action swiftly by holding regular review meetings.

Minister Mungantiwar noted that on July 1, 2023, he visited the memorial site and reviewed the plan prepared by the consultants. Subsequently, the district-level committee under the chairmanship of the Guardian Minister of Pune approved a proposal of Rs 254 crore 11 lakhs for the Martyr Shivram Hari Rajguru Birthplace Premises Development Plan in its meeting on 31st July 2023.

The High Power Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary recommended the proposal for the first phase of the Martyr Shivram Hari Rajguru Birthplace Premises Development Plan. The first phase of this development plan, worth Rs 102 crores 48 lakhs, was approved by the Chief Minister’s Summit Committee on January 10, 2024. The plan includes restoration of the memorial, birth room, Thorala Wada, Talim, main gate, Ram temple, library, facility house, refreshment hall, improvement of the river area including Ram Ghat and Chandoli Ghat, protected wall and parking lot, internal roads, open auditorium, statues, lighting system, and sound show, with Rs 82.35 crore allocated for these elements and Rs 20.13 crore for land acquisition.

A district-level committee headed by the Guardian Minister of Pune District and an Executive Committee headed by the Collector of Pune have been constituted for the implementation and oversight of this plan.

It is planned that the approved works in this plan will be completed by 31 March 2026.

For the development of this memorial, the detailed estimates for two works worth Rs 36.45 crores under the jurisdiction of the Archaeology Department have been given administrative approval by the Collectorate of Pune on 14th February 2024, and the tender for these works was published on 16th February 2024.

Following the budget session of 2024, after finalizing the tenders for these works, orders were given to start the works worth Rs 31.21 crores on March 15, 2024. Minister Mungantiwar provided this progress report on the development of the monument.