The royal family of erstwhile Travancore has approached the Kerala government seeking urgent steps to stop the renovation works being carried out at Travancore House at K.G. Marg in New Delhi.
According to a covenant signed between the Union of India and the royal family in 1948, Travancore House in 14 acres is a private property belonging to the Maharaja of Travancore. Further, as per file no 17(20) - P/49 of the Ministry of States dated August 28, 1949, Travancore House is on the list of private properties belonging to the Maharaja of Travancore Sree Chithira Thirunal Bala Rama Varma. Though the property was given to the Government of India free of cost during the Second World War by the Maharaja, the covenant clearly mentioned that Travancore House belonged to the royal family or to a person of their choice, the family said in a recent statement.
From March 1, 1948 the building was leased to the Soviet embassy for 10 years at a monthly rent of ₹3,500. On February 17, 2019 Adithya Varma, a member of the royal family, submitted an application to the Land and Development Commissioner, New Delhi, requesting that the ownership of the land be transferred to them. It was, however, learnt that although the Deputy Land and Development Commissioner had written to the Kerala government seeking an explanation, he did not receive a reply, the statement said.
Further, Article 363 of the Constitution stipulated that agreements signed with erstwhile members of the royal family shall not be violated under any circumstances. Also, the private properties mentioned in the covenant approved by the Government of India cannot be altered without the written permission of the Maharaja of Travancore.
However, the State undertook a slew of illegal construction causing drastic changes in the nature of Travancore House without the permission of the New Delhi Municipal Corporation (NDMC) and the Department of Archaeology. The building had been listed as a heritage building by the NDMC.
Now, the State government is getting ready to inaugurate the renovated Travancore House on August 4. So the Chief Minister should intervene and stop all activities related to Travancore House, it said.
