In his Government’s first Budget, Prime Minister Narendra Modi showed his commitment for his dream projects initiated in Gujarat, namely the Statue of Unity and the Ahmedabad Metro.

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Budget speech in the Lok Sabha allocated ₹200 crore for the Statue of Unity project, the tallest statue of Sardar Patel in Gujarat. The proposed 182-m tall statue, double the size of The Statue of Liberty (which is 93 m high) in the US will be erected on a rocky island in the Narmada’s riverbed near Sardar Sarovar Dam at Kevadia.

The first phase of the project, for which the foundation stone was laid by Modi on the 138th birth anniversary of Sardar Patel last year, is estimated to cost around ₹2,063 crore. The State Government has allocated ₹500 crore in the current year for the statue.

Immediately after the Budget announcements, Gujarat Chief Minister Anandiben Patel tweeted on her official twitter handle, “Heartily thank PM @narendramodi & Shri @arunjaitley for allocating Rs 200 cr for the Statue of Unity as a part of the Union Budget.”

Also, the much-awaited Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar Metro project will also get a boost with Finance Minister allocating ₹100 crore for the Ahmedabad and Lucknow metro projects.

The State Government has made a provision of ₹250 crore for Ahmedabad Metro phase-1. The work on the project is likely to start this year, the State Government had informed the Assembly earlier this month.

“We also thank the Union Govt. for allocating exclusive funds for the Ahmedabad Metro Project,” Patel tweeted, appreciating the Centre’s support.

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