Telangana creation to see razing of Saifabad Palace

The 126-year-old Saifabad palace of the 7th Nizam will be a casualty of the formation of the new state of Telangana. The palace will be razed to ground and converted into a parking lot for the new secretariat of the 29th state.

The stage is set for division of the Andhra Pradesh (AP) secretariat in the heart of Hyderabad. The Roads and Buildings sub-committee headed by Sam Bob which submitted its report to Governor E S L Narasimhan and the Union Home Ministry says that the secretariat spread over 18 acres will be divided between Telangana and residuary state of AP for the time being.

Almost all buildings will be divided on a 58:42 ratio between Telangana and Residuary AP for the time being till the residuary state leaves for its own capital complex in the next ten years. 

Two separate gates will be created for the secretariats. “All out effort is being made to ensure that both the state government employees with pent up emotions do not clash at any time,” said a senior officer.

The present secretariat is based in Saifabad Palace that dates back to the year 1888 and is situated near the Hussain Sagar Lake. 

It was built during the reign of Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, the 7th Nizam of Hyderabad. 

The palace with its red wood stair case was chosen by Telugu Desam Party founder N T Rama Rao during his reign. However, the dilapidated palace is now deserted after it was tagged as heritage structure and even the demolition process was kept pending following protests by local heritage campaigners.

As per the plan, the high court has finally permitted the demolition of the palace and the new state can use it as a parking lot. A metal fence is likely to be installed in the middle to separate the blocks.