The iconic Town Hall, which had been the landmark of the Walled City, and the seat of power of the unified Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) till 2012, has been lying in ruins since the headquarters were shifted to Minto Road.

COMMERCIAL BREAK
SCROLL TO CONTINUE READING

The plan to preserve the British-era building by converting it into an international tourist destination with a museum has been gathering dust, even though the makeover of the building was the BJP's key project. The party has been in power in the corporation for a decade now. The 150-year-old yellow stone and brick building stands deserted and desolate amid a bustling Chandni Chowk bazaar.

In 2013, the BJP-ruled municipal corporation had proposed that the said museum be named after veteran party leader Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya. It was only this Monday, however, just a few weeks ahead of the municipal polls, that the corporation conducted a meeting to review the project, estimated to cost Rs 50 crore. The renovated building will have a food court, a library, and an open-air theatre.

The BJP-led Union Ministry of Tourism and Culture, which had to sanction and fund the ambitious project, has also woken up just this month. According to a senior official, a letter from the ministry asking about the detailed project report (DPR) was received by the north corporation earlier this week.

A senior north corporation official said: "We had prepared a DPR when the project was proposed and sent it to the ministry. However, for two to three years, there was no progress on the project, as the Union ministry's approval was pending. We have now received communication from them. The ministry wants to know if Delhi is on the list of heritage cities before approving the project. We will be preparing our response now."

Meanwhile, senior party leaders have passed the buck to the Centre, claiming that they did not receive funds to start work on the project.

Besides Town Hall, redevelopment of other British-era buildings, such as Lahori Gate Museum, too, has been pending for almost a decade now. The redevelopment of the dilapidated museum, which was started in an old haveli, was proposed in 2008. But according to civic officials, they received funds from the ministry for the project only 10 days ago.

"The project had been pending for long. We had asked for Rs 4 crore. The ministry sanctioned Rs 3.32 crore earlier this month. We are yet to finish the formalities," an official said.

The MCD was trifurcated in 2012 into south, north, and east corporations.

Of the total 272 municipal wards in Delhi, south and north comprise 104 wards each, while east has 64 wards.

The civic polls in the Capital are scheduled for April 22.