HCC approved restoration plan for Old Hindu College

New Delhi: Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) confirmed on Thursday that the proposal for the restoration of more than a century-old Hindu College building at Kashmiri Gate has been approved by the Heritage Conservation Committee (HCC).The initiative follows demands made in 2024 during the college’s 125th anniversary, when the Hindu College Old Students Association (HCOSA) urged the MCD to conserve and revive the historic structure located on one side of the campus. The association offered to bear the project’s cost and engaged heritage architects to assess the site and prepare a detailed revival plan, which was subsequently shared with the civic body.As the building is a notified heritage structure under Delhi govt, the MCD was proceeding with caution. “Approval from the HCC was mandatory. Our town planning department submitted the proposal, and it got cleared recently. The facility, once revamped, will be looked after by us only,” said officials.HCOSA president Ravi Burman said that restoration work will be started soon. “We worked with heritage architects to evaluate the building’s condition and drafted a revival plan.

We will raise funds from alumni to finance the restoration. This place holds our memories, and we want to give it a new lease of life. After a long wait, finally a nod was given to the restoration work proposed by us,” he said. There is a plan to develop a library, a seminar hall and other facilities here.Currently, the yellow-painted structure lies in complete disrepair, with damaged walls, falling plaster, seepage-damaged walls, and a ruined tiled roof.The five-acre campus currently houses the Delhi State Election Commission office and the MCD’s City Sadar Paharganj Zone office.Founded in 1899 by Krishan Das in Kinari Bazaar, Chandni Chowk, Hindu College shifted to the Kashmiri Gate complex in 1908 before moving to its present 25-acre North Campus site in 1953.