Hyderabad: Saifabad palace to be razed for new Secretariat complex

HYDERABAD: The 131-year-old 'Saifabad palace', more known in recent times as ‘G’ block on the Secretariat premises, is on the verge of becoming history. The ‘Sarvahita block’constructed in 1887, will be razed to the ground, depriving Hyderabad of another heritage building. The Telangana government has planned to construct a new Secretariat complex for which the foundation stone was also laid by chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao. Heritage activists have gone to court against demolition of any of the buildings in Secretariat.
The building has practically been in neglect for the last 25 years with NT Rama Rao being the last chief minister who used the building as the seat of power in 1994.

Lately, a partition has been put up on one side of the building to prevent it from damages and fall.
“Any building which part of the city’s heritage must be preserved and restored,” a heritage activist said.

The two-storied building was constructed with lime motor in 1887 as the sixth Nizam Mahbub Ali Pasha wanted another residence for himself. The classical European style architecture, semi-circular arches, imposing arched portico, Corinthian columns made it a grand building. Also, it has a high ceiling and lift that was added later. The major attraction in the building was the ornate staircase. Mahbub Ali Pasha did not move into it but during the reign of the seventh Nizam Mir Osman Ali Khan, the general administration was run from the building.
In 2014, the Forum of a Better Hyderabad had approached the Governor’s office to see that the building was not demolished and represented to all governments since 2002 that the building could be converted into a museum considering its historical importance.
N Chandrababu Naidu, who became chief minister in 1995 chose to shift to the ‘C’ block, where even M Channa Reddy had operated from before NTR’s second term. But it was NTR who gave the building its name ‘Sarvahita’.
"Though the building is 131-year-old, it has not made it to the heritage list as it has not been updated as regularly as it should have been," a heritage activist said.