Mumbai: In what can be called as good news for Shri Ram devotees in Maharashtra, the Uttar Pradesh government has sanctioned a two-acre plot in Ayodhya to construct Maharashtra Sadan. The accommodation facility would cater to the devotees and tourists from Maharashtra visiting the holy city for the darshan at the Ram Mandir.
“The Uttar Pradesh government has sanctioned a 2-acre plot in Ayodhya to construct Maharashtra Sadan,” Maharashtra public works department minister Ravindra Chavan said on Sunday.
The Maharashtra government had made such a request so that devotees going to the Ram Mandir from here could be provided state run accommodation, he added.
Deputy Chief Minister Ajit Pawar, overseeing the Planning and Finance Departments, had earlier announced plans for constructing Maharashtra State Guesthouses in Ayodhya and Srinagar in the interim budget for 2024-25. The state cabinet later allocated Rs 67.11 crore for land acquisition for the proposed construction of Maharashtra Sadan in Ayodhya.
According to state public works department officials, the Maharashtra government has already finalised a 9,420.55 sq mt plot in Greenfield Township Shahnevajpur Majha in Ayodhya. The proposed land is 7.5 km away from the Shri Ram Mandir and about 15 km away from the Sarayu River. While the Ayodhya railway station is 4.5 km away, the Maharshi Valmiki International Airport is just 11.5 km from the proposed land earmarked for the Maharashtra Sadan.
During Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s visit to Maharashtra last year, Maharashtra Chief Minister Eknath Shinde had requested the former to allot land in Ayodhya for construction of Maharashtra Sadan. Yogi had accepted the request and gave in principle approval for it.
