Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday inaugurated the renovated Travancore house situated within a prime 14-acre plot in Lutyens’ Delhi.
At a function held here, Vijayan said it was the dream of Malayalis living in the national capital to renovate the Travancore House and make it a cultural centre.
“Even before independence, this House was a cultural centre. This complex has been renovated to cater to the cultural sector by amalgamating Kerala’s history and rich culture,” he said.
State Finance Minister K.N. Balagopal, SC/ST Minister K. Radhakrishnan, Law and Industries Minister P. Rajeeve, Elamaram Kareem, MP, among others participated.
The renovated Travancore House will house five art galleries, a conference hall, a seminar hall with a digital board library, a digital library, a restaurant, and a cafeteria, among other facilities inside.
It also has a multi-purpose amphitheatre, a video wall, and an outdoor exhibition area.
The Kerala government has spent ₹23.8 crore for renovation purposes.
The erstwhile Travancore royal family had moved the Central government and various local bodies in Delhi with a request to halt the inauguration, claiming ownership of the 14-acre prime property.
The family has claimed that around 8.195 acres of it was allotted to the Maharaja of Travancore in 1915 for residential purposes at a cost of ₹1,800 per acre and the remaining portion was purchased by him in 1934 utilising his personal funds.
