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Shivaji’s birthplace Shivneri fort gets ₹23 cr for conservation
The conservation plan for Shivneri fort will include a museum at its fort, restoration and beautification of the citadel.
Maharashtra’s Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar Wednesday announced a financial assistance of ₹23 crore for the conservation and the development of the Shivneri fort, the birthplace Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, founder of the Maratha Empire.
The announcement came on the occasion of Shivaji’s 390th birth anniversary.
Pawar, who is also the finance minister of the state, said that the proposal prepared by various departments including the Archaeological Survey of India, Public Works Department, Forest Department, local district administration will be given the nod with immediate effect.
“We are holding a high level committee meeting in the evening to sanction the proposal. We will ensure that the fort is restored to its original historical form of the Shivaji era with the help of experts in the field,” he said.
The conservation plan will include a museum at the foot of the fort, restoration and beautification of the fort, among other plans. Pawar said that the state government is also planning a state-of-the-art museum at the foot of the fort.
“I have directed the collector of Pune to present a detiled plan for the conservation of the fort including the museum at the entrance of the fort,” he said.
Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and Ajit Pawar had visited Shivneri fort at Junnar in Pune on Wednesday morning and participated in the ‘cradle ceremony’ at the fort and reviewed development work at the site.
In the first cabinet meeting of the three-party Maharashtra Vikas Aghadi on November 28, Uddhav Thackeray’s government had announced ₹20 crore for the conservation and development of the Raigad fort which was Shivaji’s capital in the 17th century.
