Delhi’s iconic Town Hall in Chandni Chowk to be developed as Global Heritage Centre

The Delhi government has taken an important step towards redeveloping the historic Town Hall in Chandni Chowk by signing a Memorandum of Understanding MoU with the MCD to develop the heritage building as a lsquoGlobal Heritage Centrersquo an official said on SundayThe Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation DTTDC the nodal agency of the Delhi governmentrsquos Tourism Department and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi MCD signed the MoU for the joint project in the presence of Chief Minister Rekha Gupta the official saidUnder the MoU the historic Town Hall Press Building and Park will be conserved and connected with new opportunities in tourism and development the official saidThe Chief Minister said the initiative is an important step toward preserving Delhirsquos historical heritage as the proposed Global Heritage Centre would include a museum host cultural activities and offer tourismrelated facilitiesTourism Minister Kapil Mishra Delhi Mayor Pravesh Wahi and officials were also present at the MoU signing ceremony held at the Delhi SecretariatThe project is particularly significant as the Town Hall and its associated complex form part of the historic areas of Chandni Chowk and Shahjahanabad The GradeI heritage complex was built between 1860 and 1866 said an official statementThe Municipal Corporationrsquos headquarters remained in the complex for a long time before being shifted in 2010 to the new Dr SP Mukherjee Civic Centre on Minto Road Since then much of the complex has remained largely vacant According to the MoU the MCD will retain ownership of the historic complex spread over approximately 12180 square metresThe project aims to adaptively reuse the historic building while preserving its original heritage identity In other words the building will be conserved in keeping with its historical and architectural character while also being made useful for presentday tourism and cultural needs the statement saidThe proposed Global Heritage Centre will provide domestic and international tourists visiting Old Delhi with a new major attraction where they can experience Delhirsquos history heritage and culture within a single complexLocated in a busy area with a large flow of tourists near Chandni Chowk and the Old Delhi Railway Station the complex has considerable potential for better utilisationUnder the MoU the DTTDC has been entrusted with conducting surveys carrying out a structural assessment of the building and preparing a Detailed Project Report DPRSubsequently the statement said the option of developing the project through public investment or the PPP PublicPrivate Partnership model will be decidedA Joint Working Group comprising representatives of DTTDC and the MCD will also be constituted to review the projects progress regularly The initial term of the MoU has been set at 30 years and may be extended by another 30 years through mutual consentHeritage material archival material artefacts and historical records associated with the Town Hall will remain with the Municipal Corporation the statement saidThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever