Debt-laden Madhya Pradesh to spend Rs 2,000 crore for Adi Shankara statue

"Let this world become one family, this is the aim behind it," said MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. (File image)

Debt-laden Madhya Pradesh to spend Rs 2,000 crore for a 108-feet tall statue of religious leader and philosopher Adi Shankara, or Shankaracharya, and an international museum at Omkareshwar. MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan has said that the project will connect the state with the rest of the world.

The MP chief minister addressed a meeting of the Board of Trustees of Acharya Shankar Sanskritik Ekta Nyas to discuss the project last week, NDTV. Prominent saints and trust members including Swami Avedhashanand Giri Ji Maharaj were present in the meeting.

Addressing the meeting, the chief minister said that the installation of the statue of Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar is a project to bring practical Vedanta to life.

"Let this world become one family, this is the aim behind it. The state government will implement the suggestions given by members of the trust and work will be done expeditiously to finalise the entire action plan," he was quoted as saying.

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However, the Opposition Congress party raised doubts on the project and said that it will only discuss it once funds are allocated in the state budget. "When the money for the project is allotted in the budget, then we will discuss it," Leader of Opposition Kamal Nath said.

The state is planning to spend Rs 2,000 on the project at the time when its debt is more than the total budget allocation, as per the report. The budget of the state is Rs 2.41 lakh crore but the total debt is Rs 2.56 lakh crore, it said, adding that per capita debt in the state is around Rs 34,000.

The state government had launched 'Ekatm Yatra' with an aim to collect metal pieces to install the 108-feet tall statue of Adi Shankaracharya at Omkareshwar in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh in December 2017.