The proposed vertical lift from Peerkho to Mubarak Mandi-envisioned as a seamless mobility link connecting the historic core of Jammu city-stands today as a case study in bureaucratic indecision, flawed sequencing, and misplaced priorities. Despite three years of procedural activity, three rounds of tendering, and layers of official approvals, the project has failed to move even an inch beyond paper. At its core, the paralysis reflects a deeper malaise that has long plagued the restoration and development narrative of the Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex. The restoration work itself has been crawling at a snail’s pace under the Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society. Not a single palace within the sprawling complex has reached completion, while the once-glorious central royal park lies in utter devastation. In fact, the MMJHS has already submitted to the High Court that no structure on the rear side can be restored until the backside base is strengthened-a process that the 2019 Master Plan explicitly recommended should involve agencies like the Railways or NHAI, given their expertise in hill and retaining structure stabilisation.
Ironically, this crucial prerequisite remains ignored. Instead, permissions were granted under the guise of creating “basic amenities”, allowing the vertical lift proposal to advance on shaky technical and structural grounds. The so-called technical clearance came on the recommendation of a single IIT Jammu professor for such a fragile and heritage-sensitive site. Unsurprisingly, when tenders were floated and firms with actual technical competence visited the site, they realised the risks and complexities involved – hence, the total absence of bids across three separate tendering attempts.
Meanwhile, the Peerkho cable car infrastructure, once touted as the first link in a “heritage mobility circuit” connecting Bahu Fort, Bagh-e-Bahu, and Mubarak Mandi, sustained damage in recent floods. The larger vision of a continuous tourist chain through these sites, therefore, stands negated by both natural and man-made setbacks. It makes little sense to push for a vertical lift when the heritage destination itself remains in disrepair. Blocking Rs 27 crore for a non-functional link to an unfinished site is neither prudent nor logical. The Mubarak Mandi Master Plan 2019 should be implemented in letter and spirit, beginning with structural stabilisation and phased restoration. For now, ‘first things first’ must be the guiding mantra – restore before you connect.
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