New Delhi: A formal approval of the Union government is pending on the proposal to install a statue of late Prime Minister P V Narasimha Rao in New Delhi. This comes a month before his birth anniversary on June 28.
According to the minutes of a meeting held by the Delhi Urban Art Commission (DUAC) on March 27, the proposal for installation of the statue of the former PM was approved, forwarded by the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC).
The DUAC, who approved the proposal, is said to not be part of the meeting’s main agenda. The commission has recommended the repair of broken pavements around the proposed site. A suitable lighting will be installed for a better visibility at night, according to a report by The Indian Express.
Officials from Telangana Bhavan or NDMC denied to have initiated this proposal. A Telangana Bhavan official said he wasn’t aware about it and it was believed that the Telangana state government was finalising a new dedicated Bhavan for the state on Ashoka Road, as reported by The Indian Express.
According to the NDMC sources, the proposal was received from P V Narasimha Rao Memorial Foundation. The foundation wrote to the municipal corporation in April 2024, requesting a site at either Andhra Bhavan or Telangana Bhavan to install statue of bronze and it should be placed next to the statue of Tanguturi Prakasam, the first Chief Minister of united Andhra Pradesh.
“The proposal is not the NDMC’s and the council is yet to take a call on it,” NDMC chairperson Keshav Chandra told The Indian Express.
This would be third honour from the central government if it gives the nod the for statue. The BJP-led NDA government in 2015 approved a memorial for the former PM at Ekta Sthal in the Rajghat Complex. In 2024, the Union government bestowed him with the Bharat Ratna posthumously. Bharat Ratna is the highest civilian award in the country.
