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In a major climbdown, infra-major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) has drastically slashed the estimated project cost for the proposed Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Memorial in the Arabian Sea off Mumbai, and consequently was awarded the Letter of Acceptance (LoA) by Maharashtra government this week.

"The L&T has been issued the LoA for constructing the first phase of the memorial at an estimated Rs 2,500 crore," Chhatrapati Shivaji Memorial Committee Chairman Vinayak Mete, who is a Shiv Sangram Party legislator, told IANS.