In a move that is being criticized heavily by the opposition, the Statue of Unity, a memorial to Sardar Valabhbhai Patel, will reportedly be made by Chinese workers.

According to a report in The Indian Express, thousands of Chinese workers are expected to arrive at Sadhu Bet in Narmada district at the end of this year to begin working on the project. 

The project was initiated by Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he was the Gujarat chief minister, and the statue is expected to be 182 metres tall.

The Congress has claimed that this move defeats the purpose of Modi's 'Make in India' initiative. The Gujarat government responded by saying it has no control over where the contractor gets the material from. 

The Gujarat government drew up a contract with Larsen & Toubro (L&T) for the Rs 3,000-crore project, who in turn sub-leased the “bronze cladding” of the statue to a Chinese company.

"High quality prototypes of precast facade will be shipped in from China and assembled at the site. They (L&T) will be getting 25,000 pieces of bronze from China…The company is free to get the material from the best possible place," K Srinivas, member secretary of the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Rashtriya Ekta Trust (SVPRET) told The Indian Express.