Memorial for Former PM Manmohan Singh Delayed as Trust Yet to Be Established
New Delhi, 31st December 2024: The allocation of land for a memorial honouring former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh may take additional time, as memorial sites can only be assigned to a trust, which has not yet been established in this case.
The government can reserve land for the memorial, but its construction must be undertaken by a trust, according to officials. On December 26th, Manmohan Singh passed away at the age of 92 at Delhi’s AIIMS Hospital.
“It will take a few more days since the trust, which is yet to be formed, needs to formally apply for the land,” a source explained to the publication.
Initial assessments of available land parcels in the Rajghat area are underway for the proposed memorial. Locations near Kisan Ghat, the memorial of former PM Chaudhary Charan Singh, are among the options being considered. Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, the designated site for the last rites of presidents, vice presidents, and prime ministers, is also being evaluated for Singh’s memorial.
An official referenced the process of creating Sadaiv Atal, the memorial for former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee, to illustrate the potential delays in building Singh’s memorial.
In Vajpayee’s case, land was allotted to the Atal Samiti Nyas (Trust) after it was formally registered, which occurred over a month after his passing. Once the trust applied for the land, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed with the Central Public Works Department (CPWD).
The memorial’s design was prepared by the School of Planning and Architecture, and the trust provided funds to the CPWD for construction. Spanning over 1.5 acres, Vajpayee’s memorial was built at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, where he was cremated on August 17, 2018.
A member of the Atal Samiti Nyas noted, “Due to a policy change, land for memorials is now allotted exclusively to trusts.”
