RANCHI: The long-pending restoration of the historic twin forts located inside the Palamu Tiger Reserve has finally received a government go-ahead, ending an over two-decade wait marked by bureaucratic delays and forest clearance issues.
According to PTR Deputy Director, Prajesh Kant Jena, a detailed project report for the conservation of the over 400-year-old forts, built by the Chero dynasty, has been prepared and is awaiting final inspection by agencies under the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).
Inside in deep forests on the banks of the Auranga River around 30 km from Medininagar, the two forts — Purana Quila and Naya Quila — were built at the beginning of the Mughal period by the kings of Chero dynasty. “All the hurdles, which were coming in the way of its restoration, have been cleared and the stakeholders have already given a go-ahead to the project,” said Jena. Now, they have to find out a proper party or agency which can do justice to this cultural heritage, he added.
Jena informed that the DPR was prepared by the Indian Trust for Rural Heritage and Development. Now, the process of inviting tenders for restoration and conservation of the twin-forts will be started, once verification of the DPR by the Building Construction Department is finished. “It’s a dilapidated building of mediaeval architecture, built in 1628, it needs technical intervention. In 2005 and 2011, proposals had come and ASI had visited the place, but somehow, it could not take off,” said Jena.
To make people aware of the architectural beauty and historic significance of the structures, Jena and his team launched a comics-based campaign in 2024. Then in 2025, a meeting was chaired by state tourism minister Sudivya Kumar, attended by finance minister Radha Krishna Kishore, and secretaries of the forest and tourism departments and it was decided to initiate the tendering process and assign the task to a party for the development of site, according to an official release. The restoration work is estimated to cost between Rs 40-50 crore.