Mumbai: Days after floating a tender for a Rs 305 crore international memorial for Lokshahir Annabhau Sathe in Ghatkopar, the Slum Rehabilitation Authority (SRA) has scrapped the tender, citing a change of plans, which includes increasing the height of Annabhau Sathe’s statue and some technical hurdles. The SRA will tweak the plan and float fresh tenders next month, officials said. Located in Chirag Nagar, the project involves rehabilitating local residents through a cluster slum redevelopment scheme, along with the memorial with a research centre. This was the first hybrid project involving a memorial and slum rehabilitation scheme by the SRA to honour the legacy of the prominent Dalit poet and social reformer Annabhau Sathe while providing modern housing to residents of Chirag Nagar. The project included two statues of Annabhau Sathe, a library, research centre, hall and drama theatre.“There are some changes in the plan. We are increasing the height of Annabhau Sathe’s statue from 11 mtrs to 25 mtrs. There were two phases of the project for rehabilitation of residents. There were 220 units in phase 2 for which Annexure 2 (eligibility) is already complete. In phase 2, there are 333 units, but an NOC from the Navy is pending. So phase 1 and 2 have now been split, and the new tender will be floated for only phase 1,” said an SRA official.During an SRA meeting on April 10, CM Devendra Fadnavis approved the allocation for the Sahityaratna Lokshahir Anna Bhau Sathe International Memorial and directed expediting its completion. CM Fadnavis directed SRA to ensure that ineligible slum dwellers affected by the project are provided housing under the rental housing policy.Tukaram Bhaurao Sathe, popularly known as Anna Bhau Sathe, was a social reformer, folk poet and writer. He is credited as a founding father of ‘Dalit Literature’ and played a vital role in the Samyukta Maharashtra Movement.SRA CEO Mahindra Kalyankar said the new tender will be floated next month. “There are some changes of plans based on requests from the community, like increasing the height of Annabhau Sathe’s statue. We are also splitting the phase 1 and 2 of the project to ensure timely completion. We will make sure tenders are floated soon and a world-class memorial is built along with timely rehabilitation of slum dwellers,” Kalyankar said.In 2022, a statue of Sathe was installed at the Margarita Rudomino All-Russia State Library for International Literature in Moscow. Sathe’s use of folkloric narrative styles like powada and lavani helped popularise and make his work accessible to many communities.
