By N.K.A. Ballal, Retd. Sr. Vice-President, ITDC
Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel is in the news again. The Chairman of Jungle Lodges and Resorts (JLR), in his news briefing, wanted to have a Centenary celebration of the building which was commissioned in 1921 by our then Maharaja for the stay of Viceroy which never materialised. Excellent news.
There is a lot of confusion on the land size of the Palace. I had got the land officially measured by a professional and it was about 40 acres and 24 guntas. Apart from this, the State Government in its wisdom had transferred some land to the Tourism Department around this property. Originally there was a mango orchard which was a part of this property but since there was water shortage from inception, the orchard was transferred to the Horticulture Department.