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Angry local communities have warned India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi to stay away from the inauguration on Wednesday of the world's biggest statue, a 182 meter (600 feet) high tribute to an independence hero.
The Statue of Unity, which is twice the size of the Statue of Liberty, is a flagship project of conservative leader.
But people living around the 29.9 billion rupee ($ 400 million) statue of Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, who played a key role in unifying India after its independence in 1947, wanted more compensation for damage to the environment.
Posters of Modi with Gujarat chief minister Vijay Rupani in a town near the statue were torn down or had the faces blackened at the weekend.
The chiefs of 22 surrounding villages have been modified to stay away from the inauguration of the mammoth figure, which will push the 128 meter high Spring Buddha Temple in China into second place.
"We are here and we would like to inform you that we are not welcome here." administration.
"You and your companies have not only destroyed the natural resources, but are openly and brazenly exploiting them for business."
– Icon or extravagance? –
The Sardar Sarovar Dam had been destroyed in the Narmada river, India's fifth longest, while the local population did not have enough schools, hospitals and drinking water.
Amarsinh Chaudhary, Local Leader and Member of Parliament, said: "If Sardar Patel was alive today he would never have agreed to such a huge price.
"This is being done for political gains as tribal groups in Gujarat are still suffering and devoid of basic human necessities."
Chaudhary said protests were being planned for Wednesday's inauguration. Authorities have already gotten away because of Modi's presence.
Chotu Vasava, a legislator in the state assembly, said the statue should be built in New Delhi, and that Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party government picked Gujarat to buy the votes of Sardar's community.
More than 80 percent of the local population are from tribal groups with special protected status. But the Gujarat government said the 185 families moved to make way for the statue had been compensated and given 1,200 acres (475 hectares) of new land.
The statue has been under construction for nearly four years. About 3,000 workers, including hundreds from China, have put 5,000 squares of bronze cladding over a concrete and steel frame.
This statue will attract "hordes" of tourists, just as the Statue of Liberty does for New York.
According to the Gujarat government, it will bring 15,000 tourists a day. Up to 200 visitors at any one time will be allowed on the viewing gallery 153 meters up.
Critics point to the lack of hotels in the region. The nearest city is Vadodora, about 100 kilometers away (60 miles) away and Gujarat's main city, Ahmedabad, is more than 200 kilometers away.
It is also a member of the national security system, and all the tourists will have to undergo identity checks.
There are no trains, and most tourists will take a bus on a four-lane highway from Vadodora.
The state government is hurriedly building a new guest house complex with a large food court to cater for an expected tourist rush.
