Hours after several Gandhian organisations kicked off Sevagram Sabarmati Sandesh Yatra, a protest march from Wardha against the redevelopment of the Ashram founded by Mahatma Gandhi, the Sabarmati Ashram Preservation and Memorial Trust (SAPMT) on Sunday said the state government has asked it to prepare a "concept note" on "interpretation, exhibition and the experience a visitor would have when they visit the Ashram and the larger proposed area."
A statement issued on Sunday read, "The SAPMT proposes to develop this concept note through an open process, which is inclusive of various groups, institutions and individuals concerned with the future development of the Ashram. All the six trusts that are in charge of different activities and areas in the Ashram have been meeting time to time to discuss the concepts, express their concerns and give their suggestions."
SAPMT is a trust responsible for managing the Sabarmati Ashram. The other five associated trusts are Sabarmati Harijan Ashram Trust, Khadi Gramodyog Prayog Samiti, Sabarmati Ashram Gaushala Trust, Gujarat Harijan Sevak Sangh and Gujarat Khadi Gramodyog Mandal.
SAPMT officials said that they received a letter from the state government a week ago from the Executive Council headed by the chief principal secretary to the chief minister, K Kailashnathan. The government has set up this council for the implementation of Rs 1,200 crore Gandhi Ashram Memorial and Precinct Development Project, which plans to come up with modern civic amenities and other "world-class" facilities for the tourists.
The Gandhian organisations and scholars of the country have opposed the makeover, claiming that it "severely compromises and trivialises the sanctity and importance" of the Ashram.
"The redevelopment proposal for the Sabarmati Ashram precinct in Ahmedabad has led to much discussion and several concerns have been expressed by the wider Gandhian fraternity and concerned citizens. Currently, the area visitors know as the Ashram is about 3 acres on which stands Hriday Kunj, which was home to Mahatma Gandhi from 1917 to 1930. It also houses the museum designed by Charles Correa. The memorial is visited by over 3,000 people every day," the press note stated.
It said that the area where tourists throng is a "fraction" of the original ashram which was spread over 120 acres of land and had 63 structures standing on it, of which 48 of these structures still exist.
"To give visitors a larger experience of the ashram as it was, the restoration plan essentially proposes that a larger area approximately 55 acres be developed in a way similar to the current memorial giving the visitors an opportunity to understand better the variety of activities and the functioning of the ashram in those days," the note said.
It also mentions a presentation organised by the chairman, Executive Council, Kailashnathan and Bimal Patel, who leads HCP Design, Planning and Management Private Limited, who are the "architect planners of the restoration project" with trustees. Patel is also revamping a new Parliament building in Delhi.
"SAPMT is of the view that through transparency, dialogue and participation the plan itself would develop and be implemented and run in a way that would be a true homage to Mahatma Gandhi and touch each visitor with the right message," the note says.
"We are cautiously cooperative with the government on the restoration issue. As a matter of fact, we have been asking for several facilities for the visitors and their overall experience like removal of the road that divides the present precinct, parking lots among others. Now that they are happening, all we have to do is to see that they are in sync with the sanctity of the place. We are alert to see that the plan doesn't compromise with the serenity of the place and mindful of the fact that it should not get associated with any other personality other than Gandhi," one of the trustees said.
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