1 year added to unending wait for all-new Gole Market

NEW DELHI: If you thought the revamped Gole Market was opening soon, you will be disappointed. The conservation of the heritage structure was supposed to be completed by March 2019, but New Delhi Municipal Council officials now claim there’s a delay in the tendering process due to changes made by the civic body in the plans and it won’t be before 2020 that the octagonal shopping complex will reveal itself.
Officials said that the project involves structural refitting of the commercial building and the creation of a museum. The redevelopment plan was first mooted in 2006, and Gole Market declared unsafe in 2007 to facilitate the vacating process. Several legal disputes cropped up when 28 shopkeepers moved Delhi high court against their eviction. In 2013, the Supreme Court finally ruled in favour of NDMC and asked it to provide an alternative site to shopkeepers while restoring the historical market.
The 95-year-old complex, named for its octagonal aspect, has turned into a dump in this period. Trees have come up in the central court of the main building. “We have resolved all the issues related to development plans and litigation, and we will float the tender soon, having already appointed the consultant for redevelopment,” said an NDMC official.
In the first phase of restoration, the building will have structural refitting done. In the second, a museum will be created in the heritage building. The project is likely to get administrative approval by the end of September, while tendering could take three months. “The contractor, once awarded the work, will have to complete it within 18 months. The tentative deadline, therefore, is 2020,” said the official.
NDMC has junked its earlier plan to develop light-controlled pedestrian crossings at the circle around the complex in consultation with the traffic police.
“Given the heavy traffic in the area, pelican crossings would have been difficult to implement. We plan to build a subway to be used as the entrance for the museum,” the official revealed.
The museum will exhibit artefacts and photographs showing how the capital was developed. An art gallery in the museum will encourage public art, an activity that NDMC has been promoting in the past year as a means to beautify New Delhi.
The main market will have a cafeteria where museum and gallery visitors can spend a relaxed time.
According to NDMC, the shops on the periphery of octagonal complex will also be renovated and the area will be beautified with gardens and art installations to give the old market a classic look and feel. The redevelopment will cost NDMC Rs 18 crore, the structural maintenance around Rs 8 crore and the development of museum, Rs 10 crore.