DUAC clears revised memorial plan for Pranab Mukherjee at Rajghat

Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, the common memorial site for former presidents, vice-presidents and prime ministers, is set to house a memorial for Pranab Mukherjee after the Delhi Urban Art Commission cleared a revised design.

The Central Public Works Department had first placed the proposal before DUAC on May 14. The commission then objected to a proposed photograph of Mukherjee on a granite platform, noting that existing samadhis in the complex do not carry photographs. It asked the project team to consider an approach in keeping with the memorial landscape’s established character.

DUAC also flagged lighting proposed beneath the square memorial platform, saying it did not fit the site’s understated visual language. The commission asked for the 3D visualisations to show the surrounding complex in its existing condition and keep the focus on the planned intervention.

After the architect submitted point-wise replies and revised drawings, photographs and other documentation, DUAC accepted the proposal. Mukherjee, India’s 13th President from 2012 to 2017, died in August 2020.