North Civic Body says the work on the iconic structure, the town hall, will start in nine months
The iconic British-era Town Hall building which has been the landmark of the walled city as well as the seat of power of the unified MCD till 2012 may finally see a makeover. The building in the heart of Chandni Chowk area has been in ruins since the MCD headquarters shifted to Central Delhi's Minto Road.
The North Civic Body has finally set nine months from now, to start work, and project to be completed in two years. While a plan for turning the building into a museum and a tourist attraction was proposed in 2013, it never took off.
According to officials, the project was stuck over getting approval and funding from the Union Tourism Ministry, which will not be the case anymore. The civic body will redevelop the place on a private-public partnership.
"The place will be turned into a centre of cultural and social heritage depicting the history of the capital city. The re-development would be done in PPP mode for which in-principle approval has been accorded. It will be a tourist destination of international standards," said Preety Agarwal, mayor, North Corporation.
The complex will have a craft bazaar, dancing fountain, the maze, light and sound programmes, street food, children activity area, boutique hotel, food court, courtyard and sculpture garden, digital library, lecture rooms, a museum, fine dining areas at the premises.
The museum will occupy an area of about 1574 square metre at the ground floor.
"The project was initially planned to be funded by Union Tourism Ministry but could not be materialised on that front and now it would be developed on PPP mode. The project would be taken up in the next nine months and is likely to be completed within two years. Apart from depicting the history of Delhi, the project would also be expected to earn good revenue for the Corporation," said Municipal Comissioner, Praveen K Gupta.
The 150-year-old yellow stone and brick building stands deserted in the middle of the bustling Chandni Chowk.
In 2013, the BJP-ruled Corporation had proposed that the said museum be named after veteran party leader Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay.
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