
NEW DELHI: The Central government has begun the groundwork to construct a memorial for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at the Rashtriya Smriti complex, a designated place for the last rites and commemorative sites for presidents, vice-presidents and prime ministers near Rajghat.
According to sources in the ministry of housing and urban ministers, the architect of the Central Public Work Department (CWPD) inspected the two pieces of land identified for mapping on Tuesday. Later, the ministry discussed the design and other modalities.
“Site measurement has already been done. After mapping, the architect had a meeting with the concerned senior officers in the ministry pertaining to design and estimates. However, nothing has been finalised. The family of the former prime minister is yet to convey approval,” said sources privy to the matter.
As this newspaper reported earlier, the ministry had initiated the land allotment process for erecting a memorial on the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal campus. The Centre identified two adjacent sites measuring about 10,000 square feet, close to the memorials of former presidents and PMs such as Zail Singh, Shankar Dayal Sharma, Chandra Shekhar, IK Gujaral and PV Narasimha Rao.
The officials said Dr Singh’s family is expected to visit the proposed sites. Following their consent, the land would be allotted to the trust to be set up by the family in Dr Singh’s name.
The CPWD will carry out the construction, though the expenses will be borne by the trust. Sources said Dr Singh’s cenotaph will be identical to the memorials that already exist on the campus.
Each memorial is a square piece of land surrounded by about 2 feet high sandstone-latticed screens with a 5x5 black granite platform in the centre. This is a standard design for memorials at the Rashtriya Smriti complex, except for Atal Bihari Vajapyee’s Samadhi.
Resting place
The CPWD will construct Dr Manmohan Singh’s memorial. Sources said his cenotaph will be identical to the memorials that already exist on the campus. Each memorial is a square piece of land surrounded by about 2 feet high sandstone-latticed screens with a 5x5 black granite platform in the centre. This is a standard design for all memorials at the Rashtriya Smriti complex, except for Atal Bihari Vajapyee’s Samadhi.