Fadnavis Government Plans Restoration Of Shivaji’s Forts After Centre Gives Its Approval

The central government on Wednesday approved Maharashtra government’s request to carry out restoration and beautification work at the historic Raigad fort built by Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj. The state government has set aside Rs 600-crore for the restoration of this fort.

Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis was in Delhi on Wednesday to discuss the details of restoration work and called on Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma and Union Shipping Minister Nitin Gadkari for the same. Fadnavis took to Twitter to share the news.

“With this I am confident that we can move fast for conservation of Raigad fort, for which we have budgeted more than Rs 600 crores. Now, we can do lot more in conserving all forts related to life & journey of our great king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj to inspire generations. Master plan for development of Raigad Fort will be approved by ASI & it will be executed by Govt of Maharashtra under the supervision of ASI,” Fadnavis said in a series of tweets.

Most large forts of national importance are managed by the Archaeological Survey (ASI) of India, which functions under the Union Culture Ministry. Therefore, the state government required permission from the central government to carry out the restoration work.

In Maharashtra, public sentiment is closely attached with this forts because it acts as a sign of Shivaji’s achievements. There are over 336 forts in Maharashtra, of which over 40 come directly under the ASI. Most of these forts lie in ruins due to ignorance of successive governments in the state and the centre. Fadnavis government has planned to renovate 18 of these forts.