BodhgayaNews

Maitreya Project To Move To Kushinagar
Melbourne, August 20, 2002. It is now clear that the Maitreya Project is almost certainly on the move to UP. In part this is due to the project finding that: "As a result of the present political climate in Bihar, India, bureaucratic delays have so far resulted in three postponements to commencement of construction on the Maitreya Project site in Bodhgaya, Bihar. To avoid further delays and the resulting escalation of costs, it has therefore become necessary for Maitreya Project to seriously consider moving to a different site outside of Bihar State."
Maitreya Project > Press and Media > Press Updates
> November 2001, accessed: August 20, 2002

The thinking now in the project can be seen in the current progress report by Peter Kedge, Director and CEO of the project:
"Progress Report – , Maitreya Project A Possible New Site for Maitreya Project in Uttar Pradesh
The Project continues to make very good progress with the state government in Uttar Pradesh, India, in relation to a possible new site. In mid-May, the MPI team again visited Uttar Pradesh (UP) as the guests of the UP government. Maitreya Project has been offered a number of beautiful sites in the vicinity of Kushinagar. More details on the great historical and spiritual significance of the area appear later in this newsletter. There are still several months of work and negotiation ahead before Maitreya Project would be able to take possession of any one of the sites. In the meantime, however, we are working intensively to evaluate all of the exciting possibilities. "
Also further in the report it states that the timescale for the change of location was as follows:
"August 2001 Team inspection of possible sites in Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand states in northern India.
April 2002 Maitreya Project team focuses on possible site at Kushinagar, kindly offered by the state government of Uttar Pradesh."
Read Full report on the Maitreya Project Website

Also the following report is in the Press and Media section of the Maitreya Website.

"January - February, 2002
Maitreya Project is moving forward as discussions with the Indian state governments of Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh are continuing. The discussions are taking longer than earlier wished and indicated. However, the prospect of the Project being able to secure a beautiful site much larger than the current site in Bodhgaya is close to becoming a reality. Detailed design work is on hold until the site selection and acquisition process is complete. The project has a full professional team working in India undertaking the complex due diligence process essential to planning any possible relocation. The team has been working steadily for almost five months actively examining issues in the areas of law, taxation, employment, planning, architecture and the environment. It is hoped that a final agreement with one of the two state governments under consideration will be reached early this spring. It was hoped the decision could be taken earlier but the implications of a move are exceedingly complex and it is essential that all the details are worked through most thoroughly. Concept architects AROS have been working hard during this time to develop a generic site and development plan in anticipation of the announcement of a site change. A major presentation based on this concept will be made to senior government officials at both state and central levels. Acquisition of the hundreds of thousands of items of sacred art and statuary that will be produced for the monument and park is continuing in Tibet, Nepal and India.
Maitreya Project > Press and Media > Press Updates
> January-February 2002, accessed: August 20, 2002

November, 2001 As a result of the present political climate in Bihar, India, bureaucratic delays have so far resulted in three postponements to commencement of construction on the Maitreya Project site in Bodhgaya, Bihar. To avoid further delays and the resulting escalation of costs, it has therefore become necessary for Maitreya Project to seriously consider moving to a different site outside of Bihar State. Accordingly, Maitreya Project recently approached the adjacent states of Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh to determine the level of receptivity towards a possible relocation of Maitreya Project to those states. Both Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand have been overwhelmingly enthusiastic in their responses. In acknowledgement of the major benefits Maitreya Project will bring to any local and wider community, more than ten land sites in Jharkhand and Uttar Pradesh are being offered to the Project by the respective state governments. In light of these extremely attractive alternatives, and crucially, to avoid the risk of abortive work and costs, the Maitreya Project International Board made the decision to temporarily freeze any further detailed design and engineering work until a full evaluation of these recent new site opportunities has been made. No decision regarding the question of site has been made at this time and the Project team is working in India to fully evaluate the implications of all new alternatives. Detailed design, development and site work will recommence immediately following a final decision as to a possible relocation. If the Project takes the decision to move to one of the other sites, Maitreya Project's Universal Education School will in all probability remain in Bodhgaya. From one perspective this is a disruption to our earlier construction plan. On the other hand, the new opportunities that our enquiries have opened up potentially afford the Project the opportunity to plan a far greater degree of long term development than would be possible on the current Bodhgaya site. These are major decisions and we look forward to providing updates as soon as the Project team in India have concluded their evaluation.
Maitreya Project > Press and Media > Press Updates
> November 2001, accessed: August 20, 2002