Himachal acquires historic Bantony Castle for ₹27 crore
The Himachal Pradesh government has finally acquired the 125-year-old Bantony Castle, the summer palace of the erstwhile rulers of Sirmaur, in this hill capital. The castle will now be turned be into a museum.
The government has paid Rs 27.84 crore to its owners to purchase the property spread over 19,436 sq m. The decision to take over the castle was taken in a cabinet meeting on January 4.
After completing the process of acquisition, the Bantony Castle will be renovated to develop it into a museum. Besides, it will have a recreational park and a restaurant.
The castle has been acquired as per the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013. Initially, the government had tried to acquire it partially, but the owners were not ready for that. The estate shares its western boundary with Grand Hotel, which is also one of historically important buildings in Shimla and was built during the British Era. The state government had earlier made efforts to acquire the heritage property in 1968,
SUMMER PALACE OF THE ERSTWHILE RULERS OF SIRMAUR WILL NOW BE TURNED INTO A MUSEUM
1975, 1986 and 2004 but it could not clinch the deal. Later, owners decided to sell the property to a United Kingdom-based businessman for Rs 45 crore in 2010, but the deal could not be materialise.
The government has proposed to set up a museum to showcase the historical, geological, archaeological, archival, literary, cultural, artistic and bio-diversity treasure of the hill state. CASTLE’S HISTORY Sirmaur Maharaja Amar Prakash Bahadur had lent the estate to the British rulers as a gesture to show his faithfulness to the Empire. The estate was used for military works office until the end of the World War II in 1945. The building lies in the town’s heritage zone. Before its construction in 1880, the site had a small cottage owned by Captain A Gordon and housed some army officers.