The Madhya Pradesh state government led by Shivraj Singh Chauhan has announced a Rs 2,000 crore project to erect a 108-feet tall statue of Indian philosopher and theologian Shankaracharya.
The Statue of Oneness will be made under the directions of Shri Vasudev Kamath and the statue will be made of multiple metals collected from both India and overseas.
In addition to the statue, a museum will be developed over an area of 7.5 hectares, and a Gurukulam will also be established along with Acharya Shankar International Advaita Vedanta Sansthan which will be developed over a 10-hectare area.
To discuss the project, CM Chauhan addressed the Board of Trustees of Acharya Shankar Sanskritik Ekta Nyas.
All these come at a time when the state is facing huge financial debts and as many as 18 districts have been affected by a recent hailstorm, in which hundreds of acres of crops got destroyed, leading farmers to seek compensation.
Opposition members have raised doubts over the affordability of the project, given the fact that state Congress chief Kamal Nath had claimed last year that the Chauhan government is buried in debt.
"MP state government has over 2.5 lakh crore of debt and the state's total budget is 2.41 lakh crore. The per capita debt of MP citizen is over 30,000 INR. the govt should give out a white paper on the finances" Nath had said last year.
Then, in August last year, when the finance minister of the state was asked about it, he said that 2.53 lakh crore was available to the MP government during the 2020-21 financial year, which is likely to touch the 3lakh crore mark, if the loans taken in the fiscal year 2021-22 will be counted.
Official figures regarding this matter however, haven't been released by the state government.
Additionally, in the recent past, some students who went on scholarship programs complained that their stipends had been halted as the department didn't have funds.
Many students have been unofficially told by those in charge to not approach the department since it would not be able to give them any money, citing the lack of funds.
(With inputs from Vishnukant Tiwari)
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