PWD, Indian Navy or Contractor from Thane—Who Built the Shivaji Statue?

The statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in Sindhudurg that collapsed on Monday following heavy rain and ‘wind blowing at 45 km per hour’, said chief minister Eknath Shinde, was designed and built by the Indian Navy. The statue was unveiled by PM Modi on 4 December, 2023 on Navy Day.

In a statement issued on 26 August, the Navy also stated, “The Indian Navy notes with deep concern the damage caused this morning to the statue of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj…along with the state government and concerned specialists, the Navy has deputed a team to immediately investigate the cause of this unfortunate accident and initiate steps to repair, restore and reinstate the statue at the earliest,” it added.

While the statement does not explicitly say that the Indian Navy ‘designed and built’ the statue, Priyanka Chaturvedi, MP and Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson and Supriya Sule, MP and working president of NCP(SCP) both claimed that a contractor from Thane built the statue.

“The task of constructing the statue of Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was given by CM Shinde to Jaideep Apte of Kalyan, a friend of CM’s son and MP Shrikant Shinde. Apte is an only 24 years (old) and had no prior experience in making such large statues…” posted Chaturvedi on X.

NCP (SCP) working president and Baramati MP Supriya Sule also said that the responsibility of erecting the statue was given to a contractor from Thane district, which is Mr. Shinde’s political stronghold.

“It’s now evident how the work was handled. We demand that this individual and his organisation be blacklisted from all future projects,” she said and added that the collapse of the statue within a year indicated that the work was of inferior quality. Photographs and video clips of the collapsed statue appeared to confirm claims that the statue was found to be hollow inside.

“When the Prime Minister of the country inaugurates a monument or structure, people do expect the work to be of high quality,” added Sule while demanding a thorough investigation.

Sambhaji Raje Chhatrapati, the 13th direct descendant of Shivaji Maharaj, said that the statue was hastily erected for inauguration by the Prime Minister.

“We had previously written to the Prime Minister, urging the replacement of this statue, which was poorly crafted, lacking proper form, and was installed in a rush. In Maharashtra, it’s unprecedented for a memorial to Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to collapse within a year. Given this, how can we even speak of preserving Maharaja’s forts with any credibility?” he said.

“In the rush to complete a new statue before the assembly elections, we must avoid repeating the same mistakes. It is crucial that this monument is rebuilt scientifically, even if it takes more time,” the former Rajya Sabha MP and the heir to Kolhapur royal family, said.

An MLA of Shiv Sena (UBT) was reported to have vandalised the Public Works Department’s office in Sindhudurg, holding the department responsible for the ‘substandard’ work. “The state government may try to evade responsibility... but people responsible for the construction and erection of the statue must be probed thoroughly,” he was quoted as saying.

Shiv Sena (UBT) leader and former minister Aaditya Thackeray said, “the contractor-friendly regime of the Shinde Government is certainly responsible for this, but even more dangerous is the mindset of the BJP. They have this arrogance that they can do anything and get away with it…their only intention was to use Maharaj’s image, and therefore, no attention was paid to the quality of the memorial. They didn’t even listen to the locals,” he noted.

Vanchit Bahujan Aghadi chief and Dr. B.R. Ambedkar’s grandson, Prakash Ambedkar said, “This is not just a collapsed statue of one of the idols of Maharashtra, it is a knife in the hearts of the people of Maharashtra.”

With sentiments running high, the collapse of the statue is not just politically embarrassing for the ruling NDA coalition in the state but may also damage its prospects in the assembly elections, especially if it turns out that the Navy had played no role in building the statue—which is clearly not its core competence or even business.