Indore (Madhya Pradesh): Indore will get back its royal Rajwada Palace in a new condition within 30 days. Smart City executive director and municipal commissioner Pratibha Pal, on Monday, issued a strict deadline to the agency rejuvenating the palace to complete the work by July 30.

Pal went on inspection of the ongoing work at the palace on Monday during which she roamed around the place and checked every corner of the palace which was under construction and has been rejuvenated. Pal inspected the restoration work being done on each floor of the seven-storey building of Rajwada, besides the main entrance gate of Rajwada. She gathered information from the representatives and consultants of the company engaged in the restoration work.

The officials informed Pal that repair work for bridging the joint with wooden, as well as stone pillars, is being done on each floor of the palace. Pal instructed the officials to speed up the restoration work, as well as increase the manpower. Along with this, instructions have been given to those concerned to save the wood from getting wet during the rains and also to do the necessary waterproofing.

Pal said the renovation work being done at Rajwada under the Smart City Project was nearing completion. She directed the officials to complete the remaining renovation work of the palace by July 30. She instructed them to remove the metal rod structure made around the palace for construction work so that the palace is visible in its original form by the third week of August.

History of Rajwada Palace restoration

After the palace wall collapse, on May 29, 2017, a tender was floated by Indore Smart City Development Limited of Rs 19.92 crore for conservation, restoration and redevelopment of Rajwada (Phase 1) with completion period of 24 months (expected by May 2019).

On December 4, 2017, a team of senior officials with district administration and Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) inspected heritage buildings in Gopal Mandir area where the civic body carried out a demolition drive a day before causing an effect on the heritage building.

On May 14, 2019, Indore Municipal Corporation (IMC) issued termination notice to a private agency engaged in conservation and restoration of Rajwada for failing to complete the work on time. With the notice, IMC also issued a penalty of Rs 2 lakh on the contractor.

On November 11, 2020, the urinals opposite the Rajwada Palace came under suspicion for causing cracks in the palace, said professor Dr Arum Menon the invited wood expert from IIT-Chennai on his visit to Rajwada Palace on November 11 for inspection.

On June 10, 2021, Indore municipal commissioner—at an inspection meeting she took regarding the work—gave a deadline of October 15, 2021, to the officials to complete the rejuvenation and restoration work of Rajwada Palace which was delayed for the past five and a half years but the work has not got completed, so far.

On July 26, 2021, Indore Smart City Development Limited CEO Rishav Gupta gave deadline of December 2021 to get the work completed, but, till January 2022, much of the work was pending and officials and workers working there, on anonymity, claimed it would take almost another year—or a few more months—for the entire work to get completed.

On August 13, 2021, at a review meeting held by MP Shankar Lalwani, the municipal commissioner Pratibha Pal said the work would be completed by December 15, 2021.

On June 27, 2022, Pal inspected the palace and gave a deadline of July 30 for completion of the work.

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