Do you want to buy a Palace in India? (Part III)

So, despite the government's friendly schemes -- 100 per cent exemption from charges to convert a heritage property into a hotel with at least 10 rooms, loan at easy interest and 75 per cent concession in stamp duty -- not one bidder turned up.

Upendra Singh of Rajasthan Tourism admits there are complications. 'There are encroachers in some forts and fortresses,' he says, 'but the government will deal with that and hand out clean properties.'

Not everybody is convinced that the forts will find takers even after the renewed effort. 'These are nazool properties which the government acquired when the princely states were abolished,' says Ranvir Singh, Rajasthan Convenor of the Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage.

'The state didn't know what to do with them. Some were given to the education department for schools. Another had a police station operating out of it. Vandals and thieves have ripped out the jaalis, kewads[ornate doors] and marble.'

So far, the only nazool property Rajasthan has had luck with is the two-century-old Tijara Fort which once belonged to the rulers of Alwar.

'We had seen the incomplete ruins of Tijara some 18 years ago,' says Aman Nath.

'Though we won the bid [for a 60-year lease], it took three governments seven years to hand it over to us [in July 2009]! Developing Tijara was meant to be a public-private partnership, but it's more like a private party's problem,' he says, punning on 'PPP'.

Nath and Wacziarg hope to have the first wing of the fort functional by November. They have not engaged any conservation architect. 'We had written on the architecture and building traditions of Rajasthan and worked with masons who were Kumawats. Building was their hereditary tradition,' Nath says.

The abundant supply has made hoteliers choosy about what they buy. IHHR Hospitality was on the lookout for property in a quiet place, close to a spiritual centre.

Gautam and Ashok Khanna, the father-son promoter duo, after scouting around for a long time, saw the palace of the former royal family of Tehri Garhwal above Hardwar.

The fort was built by Manumendra Shah in 1885 and expanded in 1910 when it hosted the Viceroy, Lord Linlithgow. It was the summer resort of the Shahs. (The priests of Badrinath come here every spring before opening the temple to seek their consent.)

It was not on the market, but the Khannas persuaded the Shah family to part with a part of the estate and the palace. They opened a spa there. Thus was born Ananda in the Himalayas.

Contd. Part IV