Amid dark clouds, a ray of hope is shining on Tagore Hill.

The tourism department has sought transfer of the 300-feet-tall heritage site in Morabadi from Ranchi district administration to roll out a comprehensive conservation plan.

Tourism mandarins, who recently shot letters to deputy commissioner Manoj Kumar, said groundwork for conservation was likely to begin on September 27.

The elevated landmark that was once home to Jyotirindranath Tagore - eminent playwright and the versatile elder brother of Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore - has been crumbling in neglect because past efforts made with hefty investments always fell through.

The tourism department has convened a meeting with culture campaigners on Friday, coincidentally the death anniversary of Rabindranath, and plans are afoot to rope in yesteryear star Sharmila Tagore, who shares her roots with the elite clan of poets and playwrights, as the brand ambassador for Tagore Hill.

Tourism director Suchitra Sinha confirmed fresh efforts to restore the heritage site. "If all goes well, we are eyeing a September 27 launch of our conservation plan. We have already asked the district administration to handover the site," she said.

On Sharmila's proposed participation, Sinha said the actress had been verbally apprised of the plan. "Sharmila Tagore gave positive response when we spoke to her. A formal approach will be made once we have the site transferred to us," she said.

Tagore Hill had been associated with the family of Rabindranath more than a century ago. In 1908, Jyotirindranath had bought the place and built the Brahmasthal and the Shantidham.

The first the scholar used for meditation and writing. It stands on the peak. At Shantidham, a little below the peak, Jyotirindranath lived till his death in 1925. Some claim Rabindranath had visited the hill on a couple of occasions.