Mumbai: The state Public Works Department (PWD) on Tuesday awarded a ₹119.50 crore contract for the construction of the Maharashtra Bhavan at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.
The PWD will construct a 13-storey Maharashtra Bhavan – Bhakta Niwas for visitors from Maharashtra at Ram Mandir in Ayodhya. The new bhavan will provide state-of-the-art facilities for lodging and boarding, resort rooms, and other amenities for those who come to visit the Ram Mandir. Officials said construction will take three years and will be built on a 2-acre plot allotted by the UP govt.
In March, the Maharashtra cabinet approved the acquisition of land for Maharashtra Bhavan in Ayodhya. Officials said the plot measures 9,420.55 sq meters and its price is Rs 67 crores. This plot is located at Sector 8D, Land Development Housing and Market Scheme, Shahanwajpur Mazha through the Uttar Pradesh Housing and Development Council.
“After the construction of Maharashtra Bhavan at this place, it will be convenient and comfortable for the devotees of Maharashtra to have darshan of Lord Ram, and they will also be provided accommodation at a modest cost,” an official said.
The contract was given to Mumbai-based Generic Engineering Construction & Projects Ltd (GECPL).
In 2023, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath was on a two-day visit to Mumbai and met then Maharashtra CM Eknath Shinde. He told Shinde that he would allot a plot of land in Ayodhya for the construction of a Maharashtra Bhavan.
Then CM Shinde requested CM Yogi to allot a land parcel to Maharashtra for constructing Maharashtra Bhavan in the temple town of Ayodhya. CM Shinde said that CM Yogi accepted the demand and gave an in-principle approval for the land allotment. Interestingly, former Maharashtra minister Aaditya Thackeray said that then Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray would soon talk to Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and seek land for constructing a Maharashtra Sadan in Ayodhya.
