Work on the world's biggest Buddha statue - which will stand almost twice as high as the US Statue of Liberty - is due to begin within months in Uttar Pradesh.
The Buddha Maitreya, the 'Buddha of the Future', will be 150 metres tall and the centrepiece of a 14-hectare garden, which will also house a school and hospital. The giant statue will sit on a throne, which itself will be atop a 17-storey building.
The statue, scheduled to be completed in 2005, is being built by Maitreya Project International. It was originally going to be built at Bodhgaya in the state of Bihar, the place where the Buddha, seated under a peepul tree, attained enlightenment 2,500 years ago - but the site has been moved to India's most populous state due to administrative difficulties.
The estimated US$130 million (HK$1 billion) cost will be met by donations from the international Buddhist community.
The design was conceived by a British team under the guidance of Buddhist masters from the Himalayas.
British engineers will be responsible for building the structure which, the planners say, must withstand high winds, extreme temperature changes - which can make the statue expand and contract up to 30cm - seasonal rains, possible earthquakes and floods, air pollution and other as yet unknown environmental challenges.