Agartala: Pushpavant Palace, the century-old royal structure which served as the Raj Bhavan till two days ago, would be developed as a museum and research centre dedicated to Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, secretary to the governor Samarjit Bhowmik said here on Friday.

Bhowmik said the now unused palace would be turned into a tourist spot and museum. The palace was built by Maharaja Birendra Kishore Manikya Bahadur as a leisurely resort on a hillock on the northern side of Agartala in 1917. Tagore, who was a close friend of the royal family, stayed there in 1919.

"This palace will be turned into a museum on Tagore. A team of scholars and researchers was earlier engaged to prepare a coffee table book on the palace," Bhowmik said. He said the structure, which was constructed by British firm Martin and Burn 101 years ago, had housed 16 governors over a period of 46 years since 1972.

Tripura royal history researcher Pannalal Roy said Tagore visited Tripura seven times and had close ties with four reigning kings. The last reigning king of Tripura, Bir Bikram Manikya Bahadur, hosted him at the palace, also known as Kunjaban Palace after Kunjaban - the place where it is located.

Tagore got his first felicitation from King Bir Chandra Manikya for his first published book Bhogno Hridoy (The Broken Heart). He also received the last title of his life from Maharaja Bir Bikram Kishore Manikya Bahadur who conferred the Bharat Bhaskar on him in the 1940s.

The kingdom of Tripura or Tipperah, as it was then called, merged with the Indian Union on October 15, 1949, with regent queen Kanchanprabha Devi at the helm of affairs of the native state.

Bhowmik said the palace was identified as a "heritage building" because of its long royal history and connection with Tagore and other great individuals. Former governor D.Y. Patil identified the palace as an "endangered building" in 2012 and decided to renovate it. Incumbent governor Tathagata Roy moved out to the new Raj Bhavan at New Capital Complex here on April 18.

The Joint Action Committee of Civil Society, a joint body of NGOs and student organisations, demanded to name the palace after Maharaja Birendra Kishore Manikya, who built the structure. "We respect Tagore but the king built it and he should be respected," convener of the committee Anthony Debbarma said.