Rajasthan govt gives nod to renovate houses

The state government has given in-principle approval to renovate its four guest houses in New Delhi. In a recent meeting chaired by state chief secretary (CS) Ashok Jain, the nod was given to repair Rajasthan House, Bikaner House, Jodhpur House and Rajasthan State Guest House. It was said that the state finance department has already sanctioned Rs 15 crore for renovation of Rajasthan House. Similarly, Rs 27 lakh has been approved for Jodhpur House makeover. “The proposal was recently tabled by the general administration department (GAD) in the meeting chaired by the CS. After examining the proposal, the in-principal approval was provided in the meeting.” said a GAD official. The state government is mulling a proposal to hand over some of the operations of Rajasthan House and entire Bikaner House to private players. Sources claimed that plans are also afoot to hand over Bikaner House, located on Pandara Road in New Delhi, to a private player. The GAD has appointed a consultant for Bikaner House to better utilize the property. But the terms of reference for the consultant have not been framed by the department despite them having made a payment of Rs 1.5 to Rs 2 crore. Similarly, there is a proposal to build a restaurant inside Rajasthan House situated at the prime location (Chanakyapuri), in the national capital. The state government also proposed to pull down Rajasthan House and construct a new structure. For the same, the GAD has sought permission for this from the  as the state guest house falls in ’ zone and the new construction, also for commercial purpose, will have to follow existing guidelines. A senior official source said, “The office of principal resident commissioner in New Delhi, on receiving the proposal from Rajasthan government, forwarded it to NDMC. The permission from NDMC is awaited. As per initial proposal, the department plans to construct a multi-storey building after razing the existing one.”