Memorial on grass bed will also run into hurdles

With the renaming of Shivaji Park on hold, the Shiv Sena's latest decision to construct a memorial with a plaque close to Chhatrapati Shivaji's statue will also run into rough weather, according to a top BMC official.

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On Friday, while replying to a BMC notice, the Sena had said that party workers will clear the makeshift structure and build a commemorative plaque on a grass bed, after the civic body had raised objections to its plans of a cement structure, as it violated Coastal Regulation Zone (CRZ) regulations. Now, BMC authorities are of the opinion that even a soil shrine would face difficulties, as it also violates CRZ rules.

"Permission would not be given to construct a concrete monument inside the park, as the area falls under CRZ, and there would also be a problem to permit a soil monument with a plaque," said a top BMC official, on condition of anonymity.

Sena had decided to withdraw the proposal of renaming Shivaji Park to ‘Shiv Tirth', which was submitted to the civic body last week, and had planned to put forward a proposal to rename the cremation spot as ‘Shiv Tirth' instead.

Leader of the house Shailesh Phanse will table the new proposal, and an urgent meeting in this regard was scheduled for today. But, the meeting was later cancelled. Mayor Sunil Prabhu said, "The meeting has been cancelled, as a few leaders are unavailable due to the Gujarat elections. So we have postponed the meeting."

The matter will now be discussed at the general body meeting on December 20. "We will follow the rule of the land, and will make a ‘samadhi sthal' according to the law," Sena leader Sanjay Raut said. u00a0