Lahori Gate Haveli structure repaired, museum to come up after standing committee nod

The MCD official stated that around ₹38 lakh funds provided by the ministry of culture have been used to structurally restore the damaged sections of the haveli

The Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) has completed the structural restoration work of the 94 year old Lahori Gate haveli and the project to set up a Shahjahanabad museum-cum-interpretation center will be executed after taking the nod from the standing committee, a senior MCD official said on Thursday.

The final leg of restoration and finishing touches will be carried out taking the inputs from the specialised agency. (HT photo)

The MCD official stated that around ₹38 lakh funds provided by the ministry of culture have been used to structurally restore the damaged sections of the haveli.

“The final leg of restoration and finishing touches will be carried out taking the inputs from the specialised agency once the standing committee provided the go ahead for the agency nominated for setting up the museum. The proposal was moved in April for standing committee nod but due to non-constitution of the panel, we are unable to initiate the work. Meanwhile, the structure restoration work has been carried out to ensure that the museum work can start as soon as committee is formed,” the official added.

According to the documents seen by HT, the municipal corporation has nominated INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage) for executing the specialised work related to museum.

The MCD official said that besides designing the museum, INTACH’s services will also be taken to run the ticketing facility.

The erstwhile North MCD in April last year had issued tenders for carrying out the civil repair and electrical work in the Lahori gate heritage haveli built in 1929.

The 94-year old MCD haveli is a traditional private mansion built on two floors and corridors.

It looks like a square comprising of lanes merging from Khari Baoli spice bazaar, Sadar Bazar and Old Delhi Railway station.

“Earlier the haveli was being used as an MCD dispensary and later it became an informal store used by the merchants of the spice market around to store goods,” the official added.

The red and yellow two-story grand structure, which provides glimpses of the old glory of Chandni Chowk, has also seen partial restoration in 2003 but the museum project never took off.

The haveli was lying in a state of neglect with several encroachers located within its premises and sections of roof and jharokha badly damaged, official stated. The central government had allocated ₹4.22 cr in 2017.

INTACH project report, a copy of which has been seen by HT, states that the museum will house artefacts, crafts, narrative panels, digital databases and audio-visual tools as repository of Shahjahnabad’s story. Specific galleries have been planned to house the model of the city to highlight the evolution of the town plan, digital reconstruction of historic structures like clock tower and dioramas to bring to life scenes from the past. The museum will start with Shahjahanabad gallery which will contain a model of Shahjahanabad and display panels explaining its evolutions through the centuries. “This room will also be used for lectures and workshops,” the report states.

The second gallery on the ground floor will be titled “The history of Delhi” which will have display panels depicting the history of Delhi from ancient times along a timeline and an interactive map on a touchscreen linking a database about heritage sites all over the city.

The ground floor will have two more permanent exhibitions on Mughal period and current community culture, language, food and customs of Shahjahanabad, the report adds.

The first floor galleries will focus on trades and crafts as well as dioramas depicting scenes from the civic life of historic times such as scenes of a haveli courtyards, kite flying and pigeon flying.

Meanwhile, the project for redeveloping the Town hall complex, which has been lying in an abandoned state since the 2012 trifurcation of the unified MCD, continues to remain on the back burner.

The corporation had prepared a proposal for leasing out the complex to the cultural ministry for 33 years on revenue sharing basis-- to run a museum, hotel and restaurant complex.

“There has been no further progress in the project. We are still carrying out consultation with the ministry,” the official added.

The erstwhile North MCD had estimated the 19th century structure will need an investment of around ₹50 crore for restoration as the Victorian era building uses the construction material like stones, lime plaster, burnt bricks and timber and it is in urgent need of refurbishing.

The regular maintenance of the complex had been stopped after the municipal headquarters shifted to Civic Centre at Minto Road in 2011-12.

The painting of its walls and facade was carried out ahead of G20 summit in September.