Chief Secretary takes appraisal of conservation works of Mubarak Mandi Palace

Jammu, Feb 24: Chief Secretary Atal Dulloo Saturday made his maiden visit to the Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex here and took a first-hand appraisal of all the restoration and conservation works being carried out there.

An official spokesman in a statement issued here said that the chief secretary went around different heritage buildings of the complex and took cognizance of the conservation work either done or being carried out there.

He enquired about the subsequent plans of the society for adaptive reuse of the structures after their restoration.

Dulloo also asked about the timelines fixed for the completion of each conservation and beautification work. He called for carrying out each work with due diligence as the task of heritage conservation is quite technical.

The chief secretary directed for restoring the original magnificence of the complex besides preserving its aesthetic appeal befitting its past glory.

He went inside the renovated Darbar Hall and Dogra Museum besides other structures like Raja Ram Singh’s and Raja Amar Singh Palaces where work is going on.

Dulloo also examined other heritage structures like Pink Hall, Gole Ghar, Sheesh Mahal, Maharani Charak Mahal, Guleri Mahal, and other internal structures.

He called for making a robust plan for their effective conservation and reuse taking the architecture, place and space of each structure into consideration.

During this visit, the Principal Secretary, Culture, Suresh Kumar Gupta highlighted the significance of this heritage complex in the promotion of local art and culture.

He also informed about the plans for the adaptive reuse of the conserved structures besides the other aspects of this mega project.

Executive Director, MMJHS, Deepika Sharma gave the overall introduction about the aims and objectives of conservation of this complex. She detailed the works carried out so far, the requirement of funds and the expenditure made to date.

She also explained the future reuse plans for different structures to be used as display galleries, museums, libraries and cultural centres.

Besides she threw light on other aspects of restoration works to be taken up in the times to come.

CEO, JSCL, Rahul Yadav provided details of projects carried out under the Smart City Mission.

He said that the beautification projects like the illumination of the completed projects had been done by the JSCL besides the ongoing work on the cafeteria is being done by the company itself.

It was informed that in 2005, Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex was declared a protected monument and in 2006, Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society (MMJHS) was constituted to take over this complex for its protection, preservation, maintenance and restoration works.

It was also informed that the first vision document for its conservation was prepared by INTACH in the year 2008 and a comprehensive master plan was later prepared and approved in 2019.

Primarily, the complex is zoned out in six zones including Public Zone, Knowledge Centre, Interpretation and Collection Galleries, Lifestyle, Experiential Spaces, and Crafts Bazaar.

It was also revealed that under this Master Planan amount of Rs 144.15 crore was to be spent on different sub-projects of this heritage complex.

It was informed that work on a few sub-projects has been completed and the work on other sub-projects is apace with the remaining works to be taken up shortly for their completion on time.