Hike in bronze price stalls Ambedkar statue work at Indu Mill in Mumbai

Mumbai: Social justice minister Sanjay Shirsat on Thursday told the Legislative Assembly that work on the statue to be erected at Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar at Indu Mills was stuck due to the increased rate of bronze.Shirsat admitted when work on the statue was commissioned in 2018, the price of bronze was Rs 8 per inch, but now the price has reached Rs 17 per inch, or from Rs 850 per kg to around Rs 1,700 per kg. The cost of the statue has increased significantly, and there are difficulties in providing funds. Shirsat said this increase is not in accordance with the regular price adjustment (price escalation) provisions of the original contract, so once a report is received from MMRDA, the state govt will take a decision.

Shirsat was replying to questions raised by MLAs Ashok Mane and Santosh Danve.“Shapoorji Pallonji appointed renowned sculptor Ram Sutar Fine Arts as a subcontractor for the statue. The work of the statue is of a very special technical nature. The contractor and subcontractor pointed out in April 2026 that the cost of bronze metal and its processing had increased significantly due to unexpected conditions in the international market.

“In 2018, the original contract included the height of the statue of 350 feet (250 feet statue and 100 feet pedestal). Later, the height of the statue was increased to make the pedestal 100 feet high and the statue 350 feet high, making a total height of 450 feet … According to the agreement between the company and sculptor, the price of bronze metal was Rs 850 per kg, but at present the price of bronze metal is around Rs 1,500 to Rs 1,700 per kg,” Shirsat said in his written reply.“The contractor and subcontractor have demanded an increase in price for both bronze metal and its processing. However, a detailed proposal has not been given by the contractor yet. After receiving the proposal, the project consultant and MMRDA will scrutinise it. As per the revised concept, the cost of the project has been approved at Rs 1,089.95 crore; so far, Rs 748 crore is given to MMRDA,” Shirsat said.“After receiving a detailed proposal from the contractor regarding the abnormal increase in bronze ore and processing cost, it will be scrutinised by MMRDA. This increase is not in accordance with the regular price adjustment (price escalation) provisions of the original contract. So once a report is received from MMRDA, the state govt will take a decision,” Shirsat said in his reply.