With demand from the Shiv Sena led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde, the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) is all set to erect a 16-feet-tall statue of deity Vithal and murals of saints in Kausarbaug Tarawade wasti near Mohammadwadi. The PMC led by Administrator Vikram Kumar gave the go-ahead to install the idol of deity Vithal alongwith murals of 12 saints — 7-ft by 12-ft size — as part of the project to develop 'Sant Shrishti’. “The PMC will seek opinions of all departments concerned for the project as per the state government's rules on installing idols in public places,” said Kumar. The project will come up at Dattoba Appa Shankarrao Tarwade Pazar Talav in Tarwade wasti in Mohammadwadi-Kausarbaug area. In June this year, city Shiv Sena chief Pramod alias Nana Bhangire urged the PMC to get the project approved in the civic body with immediate effect and complete the work as early as possible. “The 'Sant Shrishti’ project to be implemented near Tarawade Pazar talav in Mohammadwadi will have a 16-feet-tall statue of deity Vithal and it needs approval of the civic body,” he said. Bhangire said that the area was unhygienic with sewage water being released, “so we decided to develop it in public interest”. “The civil work at the location is complete. Only murals of saints and the 16-feet-tall idol of deity Vithal are to be installed now,” he said, adding the project is to be completed in the next two months. The project will also have a musical fountain and place for visitors to sit. The Shiv Sena leader claimed that the PMC has taken all relevant permissions for the project but the civic administration said that it was in the process of obtaining the permissions for installing the idol under the project. As per the government resolution of May 2, 2017, the state government has decentralised the process of granting permission to install idols of national leaders and prominent persons. The PMC will be reaching out to the committee led by the district collector for permission to install the idol. The committee includes the administrative head of the civic body concerned, police head, superintendent engineer of the state public works department and residence deputy collector. In its guidelines, the state government has stated that no idol can be installed by an individual, institute or organisation in public or private property without the permission of the district collector-led committee. The design of idol or statue should be approved by the Art Directorate of the state government and there should not be any law and order issue arising due to it in the future and the local police should give no objection certificate for it.
