BHUBANESWAR: Tourism department’s plans to convert the BN Palace (also known as Basanta Nivas and Brundaban Palace) in Gajapati district into a heritage hotel has remained a non-starter even as the historic monument is gradually dying.In 2020, the Tourism department floated a tender to lease out the palace and develop it as a heritage hotel with adherence to guidelines for classification of heritage hotels issued by the Ministry of Tourism. It was called ‘Restore, Refurbish and Operate’ project entailing designing (for augmentation, refurbishment and restoration), building (including repair), financing and operation of the heritage project for a period of 30 years.
The bid schedule was revised due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Two years have passed since then but no agency has come forward to take up the project. Sources in the department said the terms and conditions laid out in the project tender were not acceptable to many agencies which is why there has been no participation. The current valuation of the property, as carried out by the Tourism department, is `19.11 crore.
Built by the royal family of Maharaja Krushna Chandra Gajapati on the banks of Mahendratanaya river at Paralakhemundi, the palace is a two-storey building with an underground floor which connects to the main royal palace of Gajapati. It has 33 rooms. The Tourism department operates its office from the palace premises.
Amid the delay in restoration, the grand palace’s condition is deteriorating fast. While walls have developed large cracks, the infrastructure is getting weakened from trees growing in the cracks. Water is leaking from the roof at many places and the sprawling structure is covered in moss.
The sprawling palace built in Indo-European architectural design, spreads over 21.6 acre of land. A few years back, the Tourism department had added structures like a multi-purpose amenity centre, open air theatre, walking trails, among other elements to it.
“However, there has been no redevelopment of the palace structure except for construction of two viewpoints and reconstruction of an approach road which was washed away in the last monsoon. While it looks well from the outside, the palace is weakening from within,” said Bishnu Adhikari, a Gajapati-based heritage activist. After sunset, the palace premises turns into a haven for anti-socials and drunkards, locals alleged.
The New Indian Express reached out to Tourism Director Sachin R Yadav seeking his comment on the status of the tender but there was no response. However, sources in the department said work is underway for re-tendering of the project.