Delhi’s historic Town Hall complex in Chandni Chowk will be redeveloped as a Global Heritage Centre under a 30-year agreement between the Municipal Corporation of Delhi and the Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation, reviving a prominent public property that has remained largely unused since 2010.
The agreement covers the conservation and redevelopment of the Town Hall, Press Building and adjoining park spread across around 12,180 square metres. The Grade-I heritage complex was constructed between 1860 and 1866 and is proposed to accommodate a museum and facilities for cultural and tourism-related activities.
The memorandum of understanding was signed on Sunday in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta. Under its terms, ownership of the property will remain with the MCD, while DTTDC will undertake a structural assessment, conduct surveys and prepare a Detailed Project Report.
The project will be taken forward either through public investment or the public-private partnership route after the preparatory studies are completed. A Joint Working Group comprising officials from the DTTDC and MCD will review the project regularly, according to the agreement.
The MoU has an initial tenure of 30 years and can be extended by another 30 years through mutual consent. The redevelopment is to follow an adaptive reuse approach, allowing the historic structure to accommodate contemporary uses while retaining its architectural character.
Archival material, artefacts and historical records associated with the Town Hall will remain with the MCD. Gupta said the complex was an important part of Delhi’s history and heritage, and that the government would seek to preserve its historical and architectural identity while developing tourism and cultural activities at the site.
Tourism Minister Kapil Mishra said the redevelopment would strengthen the heritage tourism infrastructure of Old Delhi. He said the government’s effort was to make historical monuments more attractive and useful for domestic and international tourists while preserving their heritage.
The MCD used the Town Hall complex as its headquarters for several decades before moving to the Dr SP Mukherjee Civic Centre on Minto Road in 2010. The property is located near Chandni Chowk and Old Delhi Railway Station and is among the prominent heritage sites in the Shahjahanabad area.
The next formal steps are the structural assessment, surveys and preparation of the Detailed Project Report by the DTTDC, after which the financing and implementation route will be determined.
