Himayat Ali Mirza, the great grandson of Nizam VII Mir Osman Ali Khan, the last ruler of Hyderabad, has requested the Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrashekar Rao to convert into green spaces the hundreds of acres of lands in the city seized from the family under the Urban Land Ceiling Act 1976.
Mirza also wanted the Chief Minister to consider construction of a monument and erecting a statue for the remarkable contributions of the Nizams.
In a letter addressed to the Chief Minister, Mirza wrote, “Just like my uncle Prince Mukarram Jah’s property Chiran Palace was converted into KBR Park, I request you to make use of these excess lands not in use and convert them into parks and green spaces.”
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“More than 2,000 acres of land is unused. I offer to identify these lands personally and to help transform the city, make this city greener,” he told BusinessLine .
Palace grounds
The Chiran Palace complex, built in 1940, is spread over 400 acres and was given to Prince Mukarram Jah on his coronation by his father Prince Azam Jah in 1967. “Not only this but there are several Nizam properties that were acquired by the government as part of the Urban Land Act (ceiling and regulations), 1976, which was later repealed in 1999. All these could be converted into green spaces,” he said.
Mirza also recalled a recent letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, requesting him to release the Nizams jewels stored in the RBI, so that these can be exhibited here in a separate special museum in Hyderabad. He requested the Chief Minister to take up the matter.
He wrote, “The last Nizam, Mir Osman Ali Khan, was a philanthropist and humanitarian. He constructed the airport, high court, reservoirs, Osmania University, Osmania Hospital and many other public infrastructure and donated liberally, including 5,000 kgs of gold during China war. One of his family palaces, Taj Falaknuma, has now become an ultra luxury hotel. Yet neither his birthday is celebrated nor is he remembered on his death anniversary.”
Mirza requested the Chief Minister to also consider declaring a holiday on his birth anniversary.