The Meerut Modi temple was an idea announced in October 2017 by a retired engineer, J. P. Singh. He said he would build a temple in the Sardhana area of Meerut district in Uttar Pradesh, with a 100-foot statue of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Outlook reported the cost as Rs 30 crore. We found no report showing that the temple was ever built.

This page covers only that 2017 announcement. It is one of several stories about temples for Narendra Modi. For the wider picture, see our guide to Modi temples in India. We keep this article short on guesses and long on what has actually been written down.

Key takeaways

  • The plan was announced by J. P. Singh, described by Outlook as a retired Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department engineer and a supporter of Mr Modi.
  • The site was in the Sardhana area of Meerut district. The reported centrepiece was a 100-foot statue.
  • Reports disagree on cost. Outlook said Rs 30 crore. A Statesman headline said Rs 19 crore.
  • Outlook said Singh expected the work to take nearly two years.
  • We found no credible report that the temple or the statue was built. We also found no report of why the plan stopped, so we do not claim a reason.

What was announced in October 2017?

On 6 October 2017, Outlook published a report headlined "Modi Temple Worth Rs 30 Crore To Be Built In UP, 100-Foot Statue Of PM To Be Installed". According to that report, the project was announced by J. P. Singh. Outlook described him as a retired engineer from the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department and a follower of Mr Modi.

The main points in the report were these:

  • The temple would be built in the Sardhana area of Meerut.
  • A 100-foot statue of Mr Modi would be installed there.
  • The cost was given as Rs 30 crore.
  • The bhoomi pujan (a prayer ceremony to bless the ground before building starts) and the stone-laying were planned for 23 October.
  • Singh said the work would take nearly two years.

Outlook also quoted Singh on why he wanted to do it. He said he had liked Mr Modi's policies for decades and, because he was still in his job, he had not been able to do anything for him. That is the only reason on record, and it is Singh's own explanation.

The Outlook article does not print a year next to "23 October". Because the article itself is dated 6 October 2017, it is reasonable to read the date as 23 October 2017. We say "reasonable" because the page does not spell it out.

Where is Sardhana?

Sardhana is a town in Meerut district in western Uttar Pradesh. The Outlook report does not give a plot number, a village name, an area in acres or the name of the landowner. Some pages online quote a land size for this project. We could not find that figure in the Outlook report, so we do not repeat it.

This matters because a temple needs land, and land usually needs permissions. Without a named site, nobody outside the project can check whether the ground was bought, donated or approved for building.

Who is J. P. Singh?

The only description we found comes from the Outlook report. It calls him a retired engineer from the Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department and a follower of Mr Modi. We found no biography, no company or trust name, and no public statement from him after the announcement. We do not know how he planned to raise money.

We also found no trust name, list of trustees or architect in the report we opened. If you have a reliable source for any of these, tell us through our contact page.

How much would the Meerut Modi temple cost?

This is where the reports disagree. The table below sets out what we found.

PublicationCost givenWhat we could check
Outlook (6 October 2017)Rs 30 croreWe opened and read the full article.
The StatesmanRs 19 croreWe saw only the headline and first line, through a search result. The full article would not open for us, so treat this figure with care.

Rs 30 crore and Rs 19 crore are far apart. A difference of Rs 11 crore is too big to be a rounding error. There are a few possible reasons, such as a different version of the plan or a reporting mistake, but no report we found explains it. We would be guessing if we picked one, so we simply show both and attribute each to its publisher.

One more point. These numbers were what the organiser said he planned to spend. They are not a government budget, and we found no sign that any public money was promised. We found no accounts, bank details or donation appeals for the project.

Was Amit Shah supposed to attend?

Outlook wrote that the then BJP president Amit Shah was expected to attend the ceremony on 23 October. "Expected" is the key word. It is what the report said before the event. We found no report that confirms the ceremony took place, and none that confirms Mr Shah went. So please do not read it as a fact that he attended. We also found no statement from Mr Shah or the BJP about the plan.

Was the temple ever built?

We found no credible report that it was. That is not the same as proving it does not exist. It means that in the sources we could find, there is no photograph, opening report, official record or follow-up story that shows a finished temple or a 100-foot statue in Sardhana.

We also did not find a report that says the project was formally cancelled, and we did not find any report about land disputes, court cases or official orders on it. If you see a claim online that the plan was stopped for a particular reason, check whether it names a source. We found none, so we leave such claims out. The honest status is "outcome not confirmed".

What we know and what we do not know

QuestionStatus
Was a plan announced in October 2017?Yes, reported by Outlook on 6 October 2017.
Who announced it?J. P. Singh, per Outlook.
Was it to be in Sardhana, Meerut?Yes, per Outlook.
Was the cost Rs 30 crore?Outlook says yes. The Statesman headline says Rs 19 crore.
Did the ceremony happen?Not confirmed.
Did Amit Shah attend?Not confirmed. He was only "expected".
Was the temple built?No report found that it was.
Why did it stop, if it did?Not known.

What we do not know yet

  • The exact plot, its size and who owns it.
  • Whether any money was raised and from whom.
  • Whether the bhoomi pujan took place on 23 October 2017.
  • Whether any local office gave permission to build.
  • What happened to the plan after October 2017.

If a local newspaper from Meerut covered the later story, it may hold answers. We have not found one yet. We will add it with a link if we do.

How does this compare with other Modi temples?

The Meerut idea was not the first of its kind, and it was not the last. Here is a short comparison of what has been reported. Each of these has its own page on this site, so we only give the outline here.

Place and yearWhat was reportedOutcome in reports
Rajkot, Gujarat, February 2015Followers built a small Modi temple at Kothariya. The Tribune gave the cost as Rs 5 lakh and the Daily Excelsior Rs 7 lakh. Mr Modi objected.The Tribune reported that followers demolished it after revenue officials told them it had no clearance. Other reports differ on details.
Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, October 2017A 100-foot statue planned at Sardhana. Rs 30 crore (Outlook) or Rs 19 crore (Statesman).No report of it being built.
Aundh, Pune, August 2021Mayur Munde of Namo Pratishthan built a small temple for about Rs 1.6 lakh, according to Punekar News.The idol was removed after calls from BJP leaders, he said.

You can read more in our pages on the Rajkot Modi temple and the Pune Aundh temple.

Two things stand out. First, the Meerut plan was far bigger on paper than the other two. Rajkot and Pune were small structures costing a few lakh rupees. Meerut was announced as a crore-rupee project. Second, the Rajkot and Pune stories ended quickly and publicly, with reports on what happened. The Meerut story has no public ending that we can find.

Mr Modi himself spoke against such a temple once. In 2015, after the Rajkot temple, he said he was saddened and asked followers to put their energy into his Clean India campaign instead, according to the Tribune. We did not find any statement from him about Meerut.

This is general information, not legal advice. Indian law does not have a rule that says "you may not build a temple to a living person". What matters is the usual set of rules for any building. Is the land legally yours? Do you have the local permissions? If it is a trust, is it registered and are the accounts open? Our page on building a temple for a living person explains this in more detail.

For Meerut, we cannot say whether any of these steps were taken, because we do not have the facts.

Common questions

Is there a Modi temple in Meerut?

A temple was announced for Sardhana, Meerut, in October 2017. We found no credible report that it was built, so we cannot say that one exists.

Who proposed the Sardhana Modi temple?

Outlook named J. P. Singh, a retired Uttar Pradesh Irrigation Department engineer, as the person who announced it.

How big was the planned statue?

The reports said 100 feet. That is about 30 metres. No design or drawing was published in the reports we found.

How much was the Meerut Modi temple going to cost?

Outlook said Rs 30 crore. A Statesman headline said Rs 19 crore. We cannot tell which figure, if either, was right.

Is this the same as the Patna Modi Mandir proposal?

No. The Patna idea came in July 2026 from a Bihar board. The Meerut idea came in 2017 from a private individual. They are separate stories. Our guide to where a Modi Mandir is explains the difference.

Where to read more

Browse our Modi temples elsewhere hub for the other cases. For how politicians have been honoured with temples more widely, see temples for living politicians in India.

Sources

Last checked on 24 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us through our contact page.