UP govt to denotify 11 historic buildings, repurpose them for heritage tourism

Indian Express

29-04-2025

The Uttar Pradesh government will soon set in motion the process of denotifying 11 historic buildings protected by the state Archaeology Department and then refurbish and repurpose them as heritage tourism sites, officials said.
These structures, mostly centuries-old forts and palaces, will be conserved, developed, promoted and managed under public-private partnership (PPP) mode and given on lease for 30 years, with a provision of extending the holding rights up to 90 years.
The buildings, including Balabehat Fort, Lalitpur, Rangarh Fort, Banda, Wazirganj Ki Baradari, Gonda, Alambagh Bhawan, Lucknow, Kothi Gulistan-e-Eram, Lucknow, Darshan Vilas, Lucknow, Tikait Rai Baradari, Kanpur, Mastani Mahal, Mahoba, Senapati Mahal, Kulpahad (Mahoba), Tehrauli Fort, Jhansi, Bhuragarh Fort, Banda, and Sitaram Mahal (Kotwan Qila), Mathura, have been identified on the basis of their potential to be used for tourism as heritage hotels, public museums or MICE (meetings, exhibitions, conferences etc) properties.
The government has already floated tenders for the purpose, said officials, adding that the initiative is being taken under the provisions of the State Tourism Policy, 2022.
While efforts have been made to conserve some of these properties in the past decade with expenditure running into crores, some of them are still in a dilapidated condition.
State Tourism Department officials said these properties would be put to 'adaptive reuse' as heritage hotels, museums or as meeting and exhibition sites while preserving and conserving their architecture.
'The heritage buildings are declared protected monuments to save their heritage. But it has been noticed that such properties often start eroding with bats, termites and rats occupying them despite efforts to conserve them. This tender is a result of a three-year-long study, which was done to identify the right properties for the survey. We also studied various models in other states like Rajasthan, Gujarat and even abroad and decided on the reuse model, which helps in increasing the life of such properties with regular maintenance etc,' Mukesh Meshram, Principal Secretary, state Tourism and Culture Department, told The Indian Express.
To ensure preservation alongside their commercial use, a committee comprising historians, experts and government officials has been formed to clear these projects after ensuring whether they meet the conservation guidelines of both the Central and state governments.
'Even additions like amenities will be made without tampering with the original characteristics and architecture of the buildings,' he said.
The three-storey Kothi Guilstan- e-Eram in Lucknow's Qaiserbagh area, built by Nawab Ghaziuddin Haider and completed by his son and successor Nawab Nassiruddin Haider, is considered an example of both Awadhi and European architecture. It has a basement and three floors above the ground. While the basement has six halls and two rooms, the ground floor consists of seven halls, nine small rooms, one corridor and a staircase. The first floor has seven large halls and a staircase, the second floor consists of two large halls, two rooms and terraces.
The Kothi Darshan Vilas in Lucknow, also known as Chaurukhi Kothi, is a four-storey building also with a basement.
The two-storey Alambagh Bhawan with a total of 24 rooms is located just 200 metres apart from Alambagh Phatak in Alambagh area of the city. As per records, the two buildings were constructed by Nawab Wajid Ali Shah between 1847 and 1856 for his wife Alam Aara. The Alambagh Phatak, also a two-storey structure made of 70-cm thick Lakhauri brick wall cast in lime surkhi mortar, consists of six rooms on each floor. The Alambagh Phatak is also referred to as Phansi Darwaza by some historians as Indian revolutionaries were hanged at the gate during the colonial era.
The Tikait Rai Baradari in Kanpur is a 200-year-old building which officials say was last renovated in the 1950s. The Kanpur Development Authority had recently initiated efforts to renovate the property with support of the Archaeology Department. The ground floor of the two-storey structure has two large halls and two small rooms with a staircase leading to the first floor. The first floor has two rooms, a terrace and two staircases.
The Sitaram Mahal in Kotwan, located about 50 km from the Mathura city, is believed to have been built during the reign of Raja Sitaram. The palace consists of three buildings i.e. palace of the king, of the queen and the royal court, say officials. The structure requires extensive restoration, including complete maintenance and reconstruction work, since it is in a dilapidated condition, they added.