THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: A few members of the erstwhile Travancore Royal family have reportedly entered into an agreement with a realtor to sell off the the prestigious Travancore House located in a prime area in New Delhi.
However, the Kerala government has termed the reports factually wrong, and asserted that the property is in its “complete possession and ownership”.
The Travancore House, also known as the Travancore Palace, was the residence of the former Maharaja of Travancore in New Delhi.
It’s classified as a heritage building by New Delhi Municipal Council.The building and the 8.195 acres of land on Kasturba Gandhi Marg is currently owned by the Kerala government.
“The government has taken no decision to hand over the building. Neither has any individual nor establishment been tasked with the same. Currently steps are being taken to establish a Kerala cultural centre by retaining the heritage value of Travancore Palace,” said a statement from the General Administration Department.
The Kowdiar Palace too said it has no link with the sale deal, as per reports quoting a member of the family. The deal was signed by a group in a branch of the family, currently based in Bengaluru, and they might have been misled by someone to stake claim on the property, the family member said.
17 ‘heirs’ signed agreement to sell palace
The family member said the Kowdiar Palace has written to the Union government seeking the current title deed position of the property and the 6.104 acre of Kapurthala plot so that the palace can claim their possession. No one has the right to sell the property, he added. Going by reports, 17 members of the Bengaluru-based branch of the royal family, claiming to be the current legal heirs of a senior Maharani of Travancore, signed the agreement with a real estate and builders firm to sell the property along with another one in Bengaluru for Rs 250 crore.
The property was entangled in legal battles in the past. There were also some documentrelated issues with regard to the Travancore House. Back in 2019, some people had made a claim when the state government was trying to redevelop the properties as a cultural hub with state-of-the-art facilities.