New Delhi, Oct. 7: The Centre today overturned a decision of the UPA II government and approved the building of a National War Memorial and Museum in the capital's India Gate complex.

The India Gate, where ceremonial rites are now performed in honour of fallen soldiers, is a memorial erected by the British in colonial times in memory of soldiers killed in World War I (1914-1918).

The National War Memorial that was today approved by the cabinet will be dedicated to soldiers killed in the line of duty - in wars and in counter-insurgency - since Independence.

The estimated cost of the project will be around Rs 500 crore. The cabinet has decided the project should be completed in five years. A foreign consultant is likely to be engaged for the design of the memorial and the museum.

"Post-Independence, more than 22,500 soldiers have made the supreme sacrifice in national interest and in defence of the sovereignty and integrity of the country. However, even after 69 years of Independence, no memorial to commemorate the martyrs has been constructed till date. With the present decision of the cabinet, a long pending demand of the armed forces has been redressed," a government press note stated.

A committee headed by the defence secretary will monitor the project. After completion, a management body will be formed for its maintenance.

"This government will be establishing a War Memorial and a Museum with a deep sense of gratitude to honour those brave soldiers, who laid down their lives. The memorial will promote a sense of patriotism in the minds of visitors, and will award an opportunity to citizens of this vast nation to express their token sense of gratitude to the brave soldiers, who laid down their lives for the motherland," said the note.

"Their dedication, this government feels is a part of unfinished work in nation building. This government resolves with all its humility at its command that they did not die in vain and that Bharat Mata is enriched by their contribution. A visit to the memorial shall inspire us to rededicate ourselves to this great nation with utmost devotion," it added.

The proposal to build a National War Memorial got traction after the Kargil war of 1999 that was also waged during a BJP-led government (of Atal Bihari Vajpayee).

Successive governments have toiled over the location and the design. Civic bodies in Delhi suggested other locations but the armed forces were insistent they wanted the memorial in the India Gate lawns.

In 2009, the UPA government put a lid on the proposal after the urban development ministry rejected handing over land at India Gate for the purpose. The ministry had said that the memorial might spoil the architecture of the central vista, apart from making it a high security zone that could discourage tourism.