Centre seeks defunct Raj Ghat power plant land for memorial site

Spread over nearly 45 acres along the Yamuna in Delhi, the coal-fired plant was commissioned in 1989

The site of the defunct Rajghat Thermal Power Plant — once considered by Delhi government for a flagship night-time leisure hub and even a potential location for a new Delhi secretariat — is now likely to be handed back to the Centre, which has sought the land to develop memorials for national leaders, officials familiar with the matter said on Thursday.

A January 2026 file photo of the defunct Rajghat Power Station. (RAJ K RAJ /HT PHOTO)

Spread over nearly 45 acres along the Yamuna in central Delhi, the coal-fired plant was commissioned in 1989 and remained operational for over three decades before being shut down in 2015 due to its contribution to rising air pollution levels.

Since its decommissioning, however, the massive site has largely remained unused, with multiple redevelopment proposals failing to take off.

“The proposal to turn the site into a nightlife and cultural destination has been scrapped. The Centre’s Land and Development Office (L&DO), which holds the original lease of the land, has sought its return. A final decision is yet to be formally announced, but the government is inclined to surrender the land,” said an official aware of the discussions.

HT graphic

Officials said that if the land transfer proceeds, it could pave the way for an expansion of the memorial zone along the Yamuna. Union housing and urban affairs ministry (MoHUA), through the L&DO, holds custody of the majority of land on which memorials of former PMs and presidents have been built.

No response was received from MoHUA to HT’s request for comment.

Delhi power minister Ashish Sood confirmed that the Centre wants the land back. “But a decision on the matter is yet to be finalised,” he told HT.

Several rounds of meetings have been held between stakeholders to determine the future of the land. While redevelopment options were explored, a growing consensus has favoured the return of the land to the Centre, officials said. A final decision is awaited, according to the people cited above.

To be sure, the ownership structure of the land is complex. Around 70% of the land is held by the Delhi government, while the remaining portion belongs to the Delhi Development Authority. However, the L&DO holds the original lease and retains certain reversionary rights.

While the details of the agreement were not immediately clear, officials aware of the matter told HT that the final decision will rest with the lieutenant governor.

Due to a paucity of space, the Union Cabinet under the then UPA government had decided in 2013 to set up a common memorial ground – the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal at Raj Ghat. Currently, memorials for several former prime ministers, including Atal Bihari Vajpayee, PV Narasimha Rao, Chandra Shekhar, and IK Gujral, are located at the site.

Previous proposals

In January, HT reported that the Delhi government had come up an ambitious plan to transform the industrial site into a public leisure and cultural hub.

The cultural hub proposal envisioned adaptive reuse of the plant’s infrastructure, including converting its turbine halls into open-air concert venues, creating modular plazas, rooftop cafés, and hosting weekly night markets for local artisans. The power department had taken inspiration from a project in London, United Kingdom, extensively studying the redevelopment of the Battersea Power Station.

Prior to that, in October last year, officials had told HT that the government was studying the feasibility of the land to set up the new secretariat building citing its central location. The Public Works Department (PWD) has since finalised an area near ITO – only two kilometres away from the Raj Ghat Thermal Plant site – for the building.