Not just another bhavan, complex to promote brand Delhi

NEW DELHI: From Arunachal Pradesh to Lakshadweep and Jammu & Kashmir to Kerala, every state and almost all union territories have a State Bhavan or Sadan in Delhi, or at least a guesthouse to provide accommodation to dignitaries and officials from the respective state visiting Delhi. Delhi, being in Delhi, has missed out on having a bhavan of its own in the capital, but not for very long.
Delhi government is coming up with a ‘Dilli Sadan’ in Sector 19, Dwarka and since unlike other states and union territories, its dignitaries and officials live in NCR, Delhi’s Sadan would house dignitaries and government officials invited by the Delhi government from different parts of India and abroad. The Dilli Sadan, however, will go way beyond the traditional brief of a ‘state bhavan’ and help establish ‘brand Delhi’ as a tourism destination, according to officials of the Delhi government.

Delhi Tourism & Transportation Development Corporation Ltd. (DTTDC), a Government of Delhi undertaking, has been assigned the project of construction of the State Guesthouse ‘Dilli Sadan’ at Dwarka on a plot spread over nearly an acre (3899.42 sqm). DTTDC has started the process of engaging services for comprehensive architectural and engineering planning and design of the Sadan by consultants who have experience of state guesthouses, foreign embassies or four or above star hotels.
“All the states have their own bhavans in Delhi. Similarly, Govt. of Delhi intends to set up its ‘Dilli Sadan’ for providing reliable and economic accommodation for staying of dignitaries/officers coming to Delhi for various purposes,” the request for proposal (RFP) states.
State Bhavans perhaps carry forward the legacy of the palatial state ‘houses’ of princely states that came up in New Delhi and where maharajas and nawabs would stay during their visit to the new capital. While only very few are situated in the hallowed Princes Park, the state bhavans are located mainly between KG Marg and Kautilya Marg. Despite getting a legislative assembly well before states like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and Uttarakhand, Delhi didn’t get a bhavan, situated as it was, in Delhi.
Sources said that though the idea to have a bhavan might have started with the feeling of being left out, the vision for the ‘Dilli Sadan’ has now gone far beyond the brief of a traditional State Bhavan, which served as home away from home for visiting dignitaries and officials of other states.
Unlike other bhavans and Sadans, the Dilli Sadan will play host to ‘international as well as domestic dignitaries’ who are guests of the Delhi government. Located near the Indira Gandhi International Airport, the government wants the Sadan to showcase Delhi’s cultural and historical heritage at one place so that the visitor wouldn’t need to go to a hotel at all.
The government plans state-of-the-art facilities of international standard, ensconced in a complex that contains elements of the ancient and medieval architectural heritage of Delhi. From the boundary wall to an ‘elegant entrance gate’, the government wants the Sadan to make an unforgettable impression and that is why the consultant would be chosen by an expert jury.
The Sadan would not only offer comfortable VIP and VVIP suites, single-room suites and guest rooms at affordable rates but also conference and seminar halls, meeting rooms and a grand entrance lobby for informal meets.