Agartala: Puspavanta palace, which is currently being used as Raj Bhavan, would be renovated on a priority basis and foundation for a new Rajbhavan would be laid in the new capital complex, official sources said Friday.
Governor D Y Patil will lay the foundation stone for the new Raj Bhavan adjacent to the Civil Secretariat here on May 8.
Besides Chief Minister Manik Sarkar and his cabinet colleagues, former Governor K M Seth and Siddheshwar Prasad will also remain present in the foundation laying Ceremony.
The Mackintosh Burn Construction Company has been assigned to build the two-storied building with an estimated cost of Rs 30 crore. The building is scheduled to be completed within next two and half years.
The Left Front in Tripura has decided to renovate the Puspavanta palace, as Governor D Y Patil is keen to quit this "endangered building" vulnerable to earthquakes.
"King Birendra Kishore Manikya (1909-1923) had built the Puspavanta palace in 1916 in accordance with the then architectural methods. Hence, it could not be made earthquake-resistance," Chief Engineer, Sunil Bhowmik said.
"This has been identified as a heritage building not only because of its association with royalty but also because poet Rabindra Nath Tagore and other contemporary great personalities had stayed in Puspavanta palace as royal guests," Bhowmik said.
PTI
