Two key Walled City heritage sites in Delhi’s revamp plans

After delays of several years, the North Delhi Municipal Corporation’s plans to redevelop two heritage sites in the Walled City as museums and tourist complexes are once again back on track. The civic body has issued tenders for carrying out civil repair and electrical work at the Lahori Gate heritage haveli, built in 1929, while the Union culture ministry has expressed an interest in revamping the Town Hall senior civic officials in the know of the matter have confirmed.

The civic body plans to build a Shajahanabad museum and interpretation centre at the 93-year old haveli, which once used to be a traditional private mansion with two storeys and corridors. It looks out on to a market square where lanes emerging from Khari Baoli spice bazaar, Sadar Bazar and Old Delhi Railway station converge.

“Earlier, the haveli was being used as a municipal dispensary and later it became a sort of a storehouse for merchants from the spice market . In the first phase, basic repair work was carried out at the haveli and now the second tender has been issued for carrying out electrical work and additional civil work for developing it into a museum,” a municipal official said.

According to the tender issued by the civic body on April 12, 2022, the estimated cost of the work in the current phase will be ₹24,874,000 and the time of completion after selection of concessionaire is around six months.

The majestic red and yellow two-storey structure, which provides a glimpse of the yesteryear glory of Chandni Chowk, was restored in 2003 but the museum project never took off. The haveli has been lying neglected since then and several encroachers and squatters have moved into the dilapidated sections. Its roof and jharokhas (balconies) are badly damaged, the official said. The central government had allocated ₹4.22 crore in 2017 for reviving the project and INTACH was roped in as a consultant.

Town hall

As for the Old Town Hall, the ministry of culture has expressed interest in redeveloping the complex which has been lying abandoned since the 2012 trifurcation of the Delhi Municipal Corporation. “The complex will be leased out to the ministry for 33 years on a revenue sharing basis. The ministry will revamp the building and run a museum, hotel and restaurant complex from the there. They have granted in principle agreement for the proposal but the project is still in its nascent stage,” the official quoted above said.

The north corporation estimates that it will need about ₹50 crore to restore the Victorian era building — its stones, lime plaster, burnt bricks and timber are all in urgent need of refurbishing. The regular maintenance of the complex stopped in 2011-12, after the municipal headquarters shifted to the Civic Centre on Minto Road, municipal officials said.