A scale replica of the Maitreya Buddha statue to be built, Kushinagar, India, 2013. Photo by Andy Melnic.

The creation of Holy Objects for World Peace is an important aspect of Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s charitable work as carried out by FPMT Inc. More specifically, Rinpoche envisions the creation of many statues of Maitreya Buddha around the world. Currently, there are two separate FPMT projects to build very large Maitreya Buddha statues in India, one based in Bodhgaya, Bihar, and one based in Kushinagar, Uttar Pradesh.

The project to build a Maitreya Buddha statue in Kushinagar is overseen by the Maitreya Project Trust (MPT). During the week of November 12, Indian newspapers were reporting that the Uttar Pradesh cabinet had approved the cancellation of the Memorandum of Understanding/Lease Agreement between MPT and the Uttar Pradesh government. This action concerns 250 acres of land that the Uttar Pradesh government has offered to the project.

The director of the Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar, which is the project overseen by MPT, said that the news of the cancellation came as a complete surprise to the project and that they first learned about the cabinet’s action through a Times of India article. The article quoted government officials claiming that the MPT had breached the terms of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).

The Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar updated FPMT Inc. about the status of the project and the work that has been done related to the MOU (see below). The project strongly disputed the government officials’ claims. Their update outlines how the project has been engaged in consistent work to meet the terms of the agreement and the requirements of other government agencies. The project also points out that the MOU included a requirement of a 90-day notice period should the UP government terminate the MOU, which has not been observed.

Since 2016, when the land agreement between the MPT and the Uttar Pradesh government was signed, the project has built a fence around the project’s land. There has been a feng shui evaluation undertaken by an international team, which will be integrated into the master plan. And senior Geshes and Sangha have conducted a ground breaking ceremony on the land.

In addition for several years now, humanitarian activities have been ongoing, including the distribution of blankets and mosquito nets. A mobile medical clinic sponsored by the project has also been serving people in need in rural areas.

The Maitreya Project Trust is currently working to get a complete understanding of the current situation and remains committed to creating a large Maitreya statue in Kushinigar and setting up social and education programs in connection with it.

Key points from the Maitreya Buddha Project Kushinagar update are outlined below:

• The Uttar Pradesh cabinet’s decision regarding the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) came as a surprise to the Maitreya Project Trust (MPT), who first learned about the decision through a Times of India article. There was no prior official communication of this given to MPT, despite one of the MOU’s provisions requiring that the government issue a legal termination with a 90-day notice period.
• MPT strongly disagrees with the reported statements of the Uttar Pradesh government officials that say that MPT breached the terms of the MOU.
• Since the signing of the MOU in August 2016, MPT has been in touch with the administrative authorities frequently, working with them to complete the process of transferring the land.
• MPT succeeded in getting the authorities to survey the land in April 2018, with this survey completed in June 2018.
• On completion of the survey, MPT became aware that out of the 250 acres of land that was supposed to be conveyed to MPT as part of the MOU, only 176 acres were acquired by the government while 74 acres were not acquired.
• Another issue uncovered by the survey was that the 176 acres acquired by the government and conveyed by way of lease deed to MPT were not a contiguous piece of land. The remaining 74 acres are made up of 187 lots still in the possession of other owners and are interspersed throughout the acres the government had conveyed to MPT in the lease deed.
• MPT raised these issues with the local authorities in June 2018. They were told that once they completed installing fencing around the outer boundary, the remaining land would be granted to the project. This fencing of the 250 acres was completed in September 2018. When they were informed of this, the local authorities reaffirmed their commitment to MPT that the transfer of all the land would then be completed.
• The local authorities also wanted MPT to start the construction phase of the project. While waiting for the land transfer to be completed, MPT worked with India’s leading design and engineering company. The architect for this firm told MPT that they would not be able to conceive a master plan as the land was fragmented and that no project could easily be implemented when other land owners were interspersed throughout the project area.
• Another step taken during this time was to try to secure the required approvals and clearances from the Airport Authority and the archeological departments. MPT was informed by these bodies that MPT would need to submit a master plan along with all our development designs for us to be able to get the approvals. They also informed MPT not to start any work without their approvals.
• The local authorities were then informed of these updates with another request for them to resolve any remaining issues with the land handover so that MPT could finalize the master plan design and submit the design to the Airport Authority and the archeological departments for approval. Again, the local authorities requested work to be begin despite the protocols outlined by the other authorities.
• In April 2019, in an attempt to keep the project moving, MPT met with the local authorities again requesting them to facilitate granting to MPT at least 20 out of the 187 plots not handed over to allow the statue construction work to begin. The authorities assured MPT that this would happen and based on this assurance, MPT completed all geotechnical studies and also appointed various other vendors to facilitate the commencement of the statue work. MPT also reached a final stage of discussion with the statue manufacturer, architect, engineering firm, and main contractor. However despite the assurances received, even these 20 plots were not transferred by the local authorities.
• MPT was very disappointed to read the newspaper articles that said that MPT breached the MOU. MPT is actively working to understand what has led to the cabinet’s decision and to resolve issues with the local authorities.

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