The Delhi Urban Arts Commission (DUAC) has approved the proposal for a memorial for former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, while directing the project authorities to ensure that its architecture, materials and landscaping conform with the character of existing memorials at Rajghat.
The proposal was submitted by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and scrutinised by the commission in discussions with the architect, following which clarifications were provided on issues raised by DUAC. A key condition relates to the memorial’s relationship with existing samadhis at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal. DUAC noted that permission granted by the Land and Development Office (L&DO), under the Union housing and urban affairs ministry, requires the samadhi to maintain the surroundings, natural setting and existing memorials in “broad conformity and harmony. The commission observed that the Rajghat area has an established architectural and landscape vocabulary, characterised by restrained memorial design and an open landscaped setting. An existing tree within the proposed memorial site must also be protected and sensitively integrated into the design without affecting its health, root system or future growth. The proposal includes a designated area for visitors to remove footwear. DUAC has directed that seating benches be provided on both sides of the pathway leading to the memorial, with provision to protect footwear from rain.
“The architectural treatment, landscape design, material and colour palette, paving, peripheral treatment and other external elements of the proposed Samadhi shall be appropriately coordinated with the established visual and architectural character of the existing Samadhis within Rashtriya Smriti Sthal,” the minutes said. The new memorial should retain its individual identity while remaining visually harmonious with the larger precinct, it said. “The tree is to be sensitively integrated into the design without adversely affecting its health, root system or future growth,” it said.
