The Maharashtra Government on Tuesday approved a proposal to purchase a residence in london, where BR Ambedkar lived in his student days in early 1920s, and convert it into an international memorial, following up on a “letter of intent” issued by it to the Indian High Commission (IHC), UK, to acquire the residential property.
less than a week after Maharashtra Education Minister Vinod Tawde sent a “letter of intent” to the Indian High Commissioner, UK, the State Cabinet gave a formal go-ahead for the purchase of the prime residential property in london.
The 2,050 sq ft residential property is located on 10, King Henry’s Road, london, where Ambedkar lived while studying at the london School of Economics in 1921-22. The original six-bedroom terraced house has recently been converted into a one-bedroom garden flat and a five-bedroom maisonette. It needs extensive repair and restoration. A blue plaque at the house's entrance commemorates late Ambedkar's stay in the house.
Talking to mediapersons after the Cabinet meeting, Social Justice Minister Rajkumar Badole said that the State Government would invest Rs40 crore on the purchase of the heritage property. He said that Rs5 crore had been sanctioned for appointment of solicitor and surveyor.
“We will require Rs40 crore to purchase the house and later annual maintenance of Rs61 lakh. We can recover some of the maintenance amount from rent as we will give four rooms to four Dalit students, who come to london on scholarship to pursue higher studies. Similarly, one bedroom will be for professor on official visit,” Badole said.
In a letter sent to the IHC on January 27, Tawde had stated: “The Government has principally decided to purchase the residence of Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar in london. Therefore, I am sending this as “letter of Intent” to purchase property”.
Tawde, who had visited the heritage property a fortnight ago and held discussions with the IHC officials and office bearers of the Federation of Ambedkarites and Buddhist Organisation (FABO), UK, stated in his letter: “As already discussed, you might have already initiated legal procedure regarding the purchase of the same at negotiable price”.
“We are confident that the UK authorities will co-operate fully to preserve the heritage premises and facilitate the purchase process. The necessary proceedings will be completed following due formalities with the Government of India,” Tawde added.
The Maharashtra Government plans to complete the purchase formalities in the next couple of months and throw open the place to public on April 14, coinciding with the 124th birth anniversary of late Ambedkar.