94-yr-old John Hall to get makeover, admin inks MoU
GURUGRAM: Situated in the Civil Lines area of the city, the 94-year-old John Hall, a place where the Municipal Corporation of Gurugram’s House meetings are held, is expected to get a fresh lease of life with the district administration deciding to take the first step towards its restoration.
Deputy commissioner Amit Khatri, on Saturday, signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a city-based firm, which has been roped in as the funding partner for a three-yearlong restoration project.
Plans seeking restoration of the structure have been afoot since June this year when the Haryana corporate social responsibility (CSR) advisory board (HCSRAB) decided to initiate a need-assessment survey to tap the building’s heritage potential.
Hindustan Times had, in June and August, reported that the need-assessment survey was being carried out on behalf of a project management unit (PMU) of the HCSRAB that was working on a blueprint to establish John
Hall’s importance as a historical structure in the city.
John Hall, a colonial structure, was built in 1925 in the memory of John Goble Brayne, the second son of FL Brayne, who was the deputy commissioner of Gurgaon in 1920. Brayne took charge of Gurgaon at a time when the area was suffering from an influenza epidemic and coping with the effects of a failed monsoon. Listed as one of the places of interest on the Haryana tourism’s website, John Hall has occupied an important place in the administrative functioning of the city.
Currently, the place is used by the administration for meetings and is opened only for official work. The hall was renamed Swatantra Senani Zila Parishad Hall a few years ago and is presently owned by the Zila Parishad.
As part of the MoU inked on Saturday, the complete funding of the restoration project will be provided by the firm, while implementation partners will be roped in by the HCSRAB. “We have some empanelled agencies which are recommended by the Archaeological Survey of India. One of these agencies will be shortlisted by the administration as the implementing partner of the restoration plan,” said Gaurav Singh, additional CEO and regional head of HCSRAB (Gurugram). Singh said that the restoration project would be divided into four phases and would cost around ₹3.59 crore in total. The first phase of the project is estimated to cost ₹51 lakh, the second and third phases around ₹1.5 crore each, and the last phase around ₹27 lakh.
Charu Dar from IGT Solutions Pvt. Ltd, the funding partner, said that the first phase of the project will deal with structural restoration.
“The complete restoration plan has been divided into four different stages. We wanted to contribute to the heritage and culture of the city, and zeroed in on John Hall,” said Dar.