Ambitious Rs 50 crore renovation project will kickstart from August
The ambitious renovation project of the iconic Town Hall in the Capital will kickstart from August this year. The detailed project report (DPR) of the project will be completed by June end following which tenders will be floated to award the work contract. The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NMC), which owns Town Hall, plans to renovate and convert the heritage structure into a museum-cum-recreational centre without touching the structure. The Union Tourism Ministry has granted Rs 50 crore for preparation of the DPR.
“The consultant appointed by the Ministry of Tourism will submit the DPR by the end of June. The tendering process will begin soon after the DPR is submitted. The actual work will commence by August and the project will be completed within three years,” said Mayank Sharma, Additional Commissioner and Chairman of the Town Hall redevelopment project. He said several meetings have been held with the consultant and NMC and the project will be completed in a time-bound manner. As per the proposal, the building adjacent to Town Hall, where the erstwhile Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) had its offices, will be transformed into a boutique hotel with five-star amenities. In addition to this, an artist gallery and a food bazaar have also been planned in the project. The Town Hall will also have restaurants, auditorium, conference hall, library, museum, audiovisual room (AVR), children’s gallery and shops within the premises. The idea is to convert Town Hall into a one-stop destination for tourists where they would get a glimpse of the entire city since its inception thereby depicting the grandeur of the city’s cultural heritage, architecture and cuisine. The project will be carried out without making any change to the existing structure; some repair and restoration works would be carried out to buffer structural strength.
According to the concept project report, there will be an experiential museum, a theatre hall, open air amphitheatre, a haat with food street and local artisans along the lines of Delhi Haat. It will be a PPP project while the ownership of the structure will remain in hands of NMC, officers said. Spread out over an area of 16 acres, Town Hall was built during 1864-66. The architecture of this colonial building is a representation of Victorian and Edwardian styles.