With the work nearing its completion, the first phase of the Bal Thackeray Memorial at Veer Savarkar Marg, Dadar, is anticipated to be opened by the end of January 2025.
The project took place in the bungalow on the Dadar waterfront that was previously occupied by the mayor of Mumbai.
For the first time since Shinde's split from the party in June 2022, Uddhav Thackeray and deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde may share a dais at the memorial's inauguration function. The state government is building the memorial, so even though Uddhav and Shinde are fierce adversaries, convention requires that both Shinde and chief minister Devendra Fadnavis be present. The Thackerays will also participate in the ceremony since they are the leaders of the Trust.
The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) is building the memorial in two stages. MMRDA received approval in March 2021 to proceed with the project, which is expected to cost 400 crore, of which INR 250 crore will be spent on the first phase and INR 150 crore on the second. After Thackeray passed away in 2012, the memorial was suggested; at the time, it was projected to cost INR 89 crore.
The first phase has cost INR 229.74 crore so far, and 99 percent of the work is finished. The total area of this phase is 6,056.82 square meters. The first phase would be completed in a month, stated a top MMRDA official. The Maharashtra legislature's winter session in Nagpur is scheduled to start on December 16 and end on December 21. A decision about the memorial's dedication and opening will only be made following this assembly session, he stated.
Tata Projects was given a work order in March 2021 to begin the first phase of the project, which comprised landscaping, building the administration block, entry block, interpretation centre and restoring the mayor's residence. The first phase's project management consultant is conservationist Abha Narain Lambah.
The heritage building, which occupies 602.39 square meters, will showcase the Thackeray family's history, the Sena supremo's daily Saamna, his cartoons for other publications, and information about the Shiv Sena's development since its founding in June 1966. When asked if the memorial would also show the Shiv Sena's split in June 2022 and the story that followed, the MMRDA official remained silent.
There will be two multipurpose halls, two meeting rooms, a security room, and 27 parking spaces in the administrative block. The interpretation centre will have three water features, a gallery, a book library, digital resources, and public restrooms. The Balasaheb Thackeray Rashtriya Smarak Trust's office, conference room, canteen, and public facilities will all be located in the administrative block.
Uddhav Thackeray - son of Bal Thackeray, served as the Trust's first chair until he resigned in November 2019 to become the chief minister of Maharashtra. Then, senior Shiv Sena (UBT) politician Subhash Desai served as member secretary, and MLA Aaditya Thackeray, grandson of Bal Thackeray, took over as chairman.
Audio-visual components like a laser show, signage, branding, digital mapping, audio narration, and virtual reality are all part of the project's second phase. The first phase of the project was originally slated to be completed in March 2023, however it was then delayed to August 2023 and then to March 2024.