India’s farmers have struggled to make ends meet at the same time as the country’s government has built the ambitious £335 million and 597 feet high statue in Gujarat.
The Statue of Unity is part of a memorial to the Indian independence leader Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who died in 1950.
Mr Patel was a nationalist leader and he went on to become India’s first interior minister and deputy prime minister under Jawaharlal Nehru.
The Statue of Unity was designed as an accurate representation of Patel wearing his normal clothes and in a walking stance.
The Statue will feature an exhibition floor, a Memorial Garden and an observation deck.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, also from Gujarat, commissioned the statue when he was the state’s chief minister in 2010.
Long dry summers and erratic rainfall in India has led to droughts and has shrunk the incomes of farmers in the country.
The farmers in the area have said they lack basic irrigation facilities and are unhappy with the spending of such a large amount of cash.
Ahead of the unveiling of the statue, 22 representatives from villages in the Gujarat district have written an open letter to Prime Minister Modi saying he won’t be welcomed for the unveiling of the statue.
The letter to Mr Modi said: “When we are still struggling to avail basic infrastructural facilities for schools, hospitals and drinking water, you decide to spend crores of rupees for the construction of a statue and now again for the inaugural event.
“With a heavy heart, all of us villagers are telling you that we won’t welcome you on our land in our district.”
The Indian Government believes the memorial will boost the area’s economy and they expect around 2.5 million annual visitors.
A senior official, Sandeep Kumar, said: “It will lead to employment opportunities for locals and will also increase tourism in the area”.
Although half of India’s population works on farms, farming only contributes 15 percent to the country’s GDP.
The statue is designed by Noida-based sculptor Ram V Sutar who attempted to match the statue’s resemblance with Sardar Patel.