An ambitious plan to redevelop the 150-year-old Town Hall building and its surroundings is likely to get back on track now, after having been stalled for months due to political and administrative inaction during the election period.
The authorities are expected to expedite the project as a Union Government deadline is looming. The heritage structure that comes under the jurisdiction of the North Delhi Municipal Corporation is long overdue for a makeover, with peeled off plaster exposing old beams inside the colonial era building.
As per a plan, drafted by cultural preservation NGO, INTACH, the historic building needs structural strengthening, water proofing and general refurbishing. The Ministry of Tourism had cleared the corporation’s Rs. 50 crore-redevelopment plan in February this year.
ADVERTISEMENT
“But, we couldn’t issue work orders due to the imposition of the Model Code of Conduct. We will be submitting a detailed project report to the Ministry of Tourism before June 30, after which the funds will be released and work will start,” said North Corporation spokesperson Y.S. Mann on Tuesday. Municipal officials said that with the new government taking shape, the project will have to wait till the new Minister takes over. North Corporation Mayor Yogender Chandolia said work on the plan had slowed down because the officer in charge had been transferred. “The work will start now,” Mr. Chandolia said, adding that the project when completed would give Delhiites a unique cultural hub.
The Commissioner of the civic body, Pravin Kumar Gupta, admitted that the project had slowed down. “I will get it expedited now that the elections are over,” he said.
The plan covers a 16-acre site, which includes the main Town Hall building, a Ladies Park, Mahatma Gandhi Park and Dangal Maidan. As per the plan, the redeveloped space will have a museum, a boutique hotel and spa, a budget hotel, a food bazaar, an exhibition centre, a library, and a maze garden for children.
ADVERTISEMENT
According to A.G.K. Menon, the convenor of INTACH’s Delhi chapter, the plan had to be on a large scale. “Delhi requires an ambitious plan,” he said.
He hoped that the project would get rolling now, but he added a word of caution. “There are half a dozen such projects in limbo, for example the Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk ones. Our vision statement needs to be translated into administrative action,” Mr. Menon said.
If the Corporation’s plan works out, Mr. Menon said: “Delhi will have a unique asset”.