The Kerala government on Monday took over the Halcyon Palace at the Kovalam beach resort from the private hotel group that was holding the heritage property, Thiruvananthapuram district collector Tinku Biswal said.
The 75-year-old palace, built by the Travancore Royal family, was in the eye of a storm with local groups backed by political parties demanding its restoration as a public property.
Leading NRI group, Mfar Hotels Private Ltd, had been holding on to the property on the ground that it formed part of an ITDC hotel it purchased from the Centre two years back as part of the divestment process.
