New Delhi: The National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) which was completely gutted to fire yesterday night will be re-constructed behind Old Fort near Pragati Maidan, a report said on Tuesday.
The new museum will come up on 6.5 acres of land and will cost Rs 225 crore, according to a leading daily TOI.
The project will be completed by February 2017, the report added.
A massive fire destroyed the NMNH here at around 1:50 am yesterday night, reducing its priceless collection including fossils to ashes.
The shocking devastation forced Environment Minister Prakash Javadekar to order an urgent fire audit of all museums across the country as it emerged that the fire fighting system failed to work at the museum.
The blaze quickly spread in the multi-storey building which housed the museum, just across the Nepalese embassy and around three kilometres from the Parliament House.
"The museum was on FICCI property. We will assess the damage as soon as we (can) and see how we can restore it," said a stunned Javadekar.
Some 35 fire tenders battled the leaping flames, bringing the fire officially under control by about 6 am. By then, virtually nothing in the museum of importance could be saved.
The National Museum of Natural History or NMNH in New Delhi was one of two museums focusing on nature in India. Established in 1972, the museum functioned under the Ministry of Environment and Forests of the Government of India.
Exhibits at the NMNH focused on India's plants, animals and mineral wealth, and were divided into four main exhibit galleries: "Cell: The Basic Unit of Life", "Conservation", "Introduction to Natural History", and "Nature's Network: Ecology".
Some exhibits include film screenings. The museum also featured a Discovery Room and Activity Room, specifically designed for children, where designated specimens can be handled by visitors.
Specific exhibits included a sauropod fossil: "a collection of bird eggs including those of the ostrich and the long-billed vulture, stuffed animals including various big cats"
