Bantony Castle goes to govt formally

Pratibha Chauhan

Tribune News Service

Shimla, February 18

The decades old struggle to acquire the Bantony Castle, the summer palace of the erstwhile rulers of Sirmaur, finally ended today with the prime property being transferred in the name of the Department of Language, Art and Culture in the revenue record.

All formalities and the change in status of the ownership of the property located on the Kali Bari road on The Mall were completed today. A new public board reading ‘This property belongs to the Department of Language, Art and Culture’ was conspicuous as it replaced the earlier board terming it a ‘Private Property’.

The registry of the Bantony Castle was done in the office of the Sub-Divisional Magistrate, Shimla (Urban), at a sum of Rs 27.84 crore (27,84,65,947), today. After several failed attempts to acquire the 125-year-old Bantony Castle over the last few decades, the state government in its Cabinet meeting on January 4, 2017, had taken the decision to acquire the heritage property to set up a museum and a heritage zone. Hemis Negi, SDM (Urban), along with other officials of the department, was present at the property to complete the formalities. Owners, including Vishwanath Sood, was also there, ending their decades long legal battle to get due value of their property which falls in the green area where no fresh construction can be done.

The Himachal Institute of Public Administration (HIPA) had prepared the Social Impact Assessment Report of the property before a decision on its acquisition was taken. “Although these structures in themselves cannot be categorised as assets in their present existing condition, they have immense cultural, architectural and archaeological value. Moreover, renovating or reconstructing these structures in order to preserve their original cultural, aesthetic and architectural value may turn them into invaluable assets,” stated the report.

The entire property spread over an area of 19,436.83 sq m, including the main wooden structure, expansive lawns and thick deodar forests, will be acquired and a detailed project report will be prepared so that it can be turned into a vibrant heritage zone, showcasing Himachal’s rich culture and traditions.

Efforts have been made to acquire the Bantony Castle in 1968, 1975, 1986, 2004 and 2013 also. The owners had entered into an agreement to sell it at a cost of Rs 45 crore with a London-based NRI, Ranjay Trehan, in 2010 which failed to materialise.