The Gandhi Hill is mired in a custodianship row. Members of a newly-constituted Andhra Pradesh State chapter of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi and the Gandhi Foundation are at loggerheads over the control of the property.
After bifurcation, members of the Central Gandhi Smarak Nidhi in Delhi, which is the custodian of all Gandhi properties across the country, carved out a separate AP State Gandhi Smarak Nidhi from the erstwhile single unit.
Chairman of the Central Gandhi Smarak Ramchander Rahi declared the newly constituted AP unit as the custodian, which was hitherto maintained by the Gandhi Foundation for several years.
The move has angered the Chairman of the Gandhi Foundation Gokaraju Gangaraju who argues that the Foundation is an independent entity and that it has got nothing to do with the division of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi.
Finding fault with the Central Smarak Nidhi for constituting a new body for Andhra Pradesh without taking the Chairman of the Gandhi Foundation into confidence, he said under no circumstances would he dissociate with the Gandhi Foundation. “We have been running it for years and we will continue to do so,” he emphasised.
Citing dearth of funds, he criticised Mr. Rahi, who was also one of the office-bearers of the Smarak Nidhi in the combined State, for not extending any financial help for the development of the property all these past years. “We have spent close to ₹40 lakh from our pocket to carry out small repairs and pay salaries to the staff,” he said.
“We don’t want any confrontation. We are Gandhians and we have enormous patience. Since we believe in the power of dialogue, we will exhaust all other means before taking to legal course,” says Mr. Rahi, referring to the stalemate. Reiterating that the AP unit of the Gandhi Smarak Nidhi would be solely responsible for all affairs related to the Gandhi Hill, he said he wanted development of the monument in a manner that it would educate and inspire the youth to embrace Gandhian philosophy “which is so relevant in this age of intolerance”.
A Gandhi Hill Society formed in 1964 became Gandhi Hill Foundation in 1977. The place was completely closed to the public from 1989 to 1097 during the chairmanship of Mr. Murthy Raju as maintenance had become impossible.
Mr. Gangaraju was the secretary of the Foundation from 1997 and in 2012 before he became the chairman. Citing several hurdles for the development, he says fresh proposals worth ₹3 crore had been submitted and the authorities had responded favourably to it.
The Foundation’s immediate plans are to convert the Gandhi Memorial Library into a Gandhi Museum and shift the collection of books to the foot of the hill and replace the old equipment with the new one in the planetarium besides an open auditorium with a stage for cultural programmes.
This runs parallel to the master plan of the AP Smarak Nidhi drawn at an estimated cost of ₹120 crore. Ironically, after being in the throes of prolonged apathy, the much-awaited development of Gandhi Hill now seems to have more than one taker.
