Lalit Gupta
Notwithstanding grandiose announcements on many public platforms and official press releases issued from time to time by the political bigwigs, the snail speed of preservation of Mubarak Mandi complex has put a question mark on State Government’s mindless planning and lack of vision for capacity building in preserving one of the major architectural heritage landmarks of the Jammu and Kashmir.
Such a lackluster and casual official approach towards heritage preservation, upkeep and management has not only mired the very spirit of the much touted initiative but has also revealed woeful apathy of political leadership towards time-bound completion of the cultural tourism projects that have immense potential of galvanizing local economy.
Adding insult to injury is that even after seven years of formation of the Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society (MMJHS), with State’s Chief Minister as its ex-officio chairman, and having members such as Minister of Tourism, MP, MLA, Commissioners of all major Government departments and eminent citizens-the Society, has so far failed to streamline the administrative and technical processes for effective and people-friendly planning and execution of preservation works at Mubarak Mandi Complex.
Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society (MMJHS): The movement of preservation of Mubarak Mandi, which in 1990s had started with initiative of PG Dhar Chakravarti, IAS, was put in cold storage when he opted to leave the state for a posting in Delhi. After a gap of more than a decade, taking cognizance of the pathetic condition of the Mubarak Mandi complex, Gulchain Singh Charak, the then Minister of R&B in 2006 with an unprecedented zeal and enthusiasm highlighted the case of Mubarak Mandi and convinced the State Government headed by equally empathetic Chief Minister Gulam Nabi Azad to set up an autonomous society as a separate independent organization for speedy restoration and conservation of Mubarak Mandi.
Subsequently a society named as ‘Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society’ (MMJHS) registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1998 was established in 2006. The main objective of the society was to initiate necessary measures for the preservation of Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex and to restore its original grandeur. As per the articles of association, the Chief Minister is the ex-officio chairman, and also the chairman of the Governing Body. Gulchain Singh Charak was its Vice Chairman. There is also an executive Committee which is responsible for day-today affairs of the society and vide GAD Order No. 561 of 2008 dated 23-4-2008, the Mubarak Mandi heritage Complex was transferred to the Mubarak Mandi Heritage Society for conservation and management purposes.
Beginning of the Initiative: The high level meetings of Gulam Nabi Azad, Gulchain Singh Charak and Dr Karan Singh and others with Ambicka Soni, the then Minister of Tourism, New Delhi, resulted in grant of Rs 50 crores out of the 13th Finance Commission Award and Rs 20 crores as Mega Tourism Project grant by Government of India.
MMJHS’s Governing body’s first meeting was held on January 24, 2007, under the chairmanship of the then chief minister Gulam Nabi Azad. Attended by nominated members from the State as well as invited experts from all over India, an action plan for restoration was arrived at.
INTACH: The recommendation of Society in its first meeting included taking services of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art, Culture and Heritage), New Delhi, to document, prepare conservation and reuse plans, vacation of the complex, creation of the post of Executive Director and administrative department for MMJHS, measures safeguarding of the complex, shifting of Toshakhana, establishment of a dedicated Civil Engineering sub-division for Mubarak Mandi, underground cabling, demarcation of boundaries of Mubarak Mandi complex, stationing of Fire and Emergency services, providing of road link to adjoining areas from outside the old High Court, expression of interest for heritage hotel, preparation/declaration of Heritage Zone of Jammu city master plan, tackling monkey menace, parking facilities, illuminating of Mubarak Mandi complex from Tawi side etc.
MMJHS, entrusted the job to document, prepare conservation and reuse plans of Mubarak Mandi complex to INTACH, Delhi. The agency with help of its experts completed and handed over in 2008, the conservation and reuse plans and Detailed Project Reports of estimated cost of 230 crores for 15 buildings. This excluded the auxiliary structures at Mubarak Mandi.
Executing Agency: In absence of any competent State Government Department-including Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums which supposedly looks after 39 protected monuments in the state-to undertake technical job of architectural conservation of complex such as Mubarak Mandi , Archeological Survey of India (ASI) was approached to undertake conservation of Old High Court (Army Head Quarters) Building. ASI’s Srinagar Circle started the conservation work on Old High Court Building on 30.9.2008. The restoration of the building involving the cost of Rs. 3,51,69,000 was completed on 30.8.20011 and ASI handed over Old High Court Complex to MMJHS with much fanfare on 24.1.2012.
Reuse Plan: The INTACH reuse plan envisages a detailed reuse plan for buildings after their restoration. This includes emporia, heritage hotel, interpretation and tourist centre, food courts, museums, restaurants, recreational & cultural/craft centers, research centers, library, conservation lab, archives etc.
But surprisingly MMJHS has till date not been able to put into effect the Old High Court building’s reuse plan as a hub for conference tourism which would have led to creation of infrastructure to hold national and international conventions, conferences, seminars, symposia, and in turn ensuring a wider visibility and publicity of Mubarak Mandi in other parts of the country and world.
Instead, in a quite change of reuse plan, it is being decided to showcase the items of Toshakhana for public in Old High Court building. In the meanwhile since January 2012, the building barring being used few times as a venue for holding artists’ camps and an exhibition is mostly unused and due to lack of maintenance has again developed tree growth on its roofs. According to experts if the state of affairs continues very soon it will revert to its pre-restoration stage.
Full Time Executive Director: What has put a spanner in eagerly awaited resurrection of Mubarak Mandi as the cultural and tourist hub of Jammu is the fact that the State government even after a lapse of seven years has failed to appoint a dedicated full time Executive Director to look after the project as recommended by MMJHS in its first governing body meet.
The inability to reuse the Old High Court building that stands restored since two years as per its original technical plan submitted by INTACH, speaks volumes about the priorities of the rudderless MMHJS. In a classic case where one proposes and other disposes, the long list of seven Directors of Tourism Department since 2007, who one after another with additional charge of the Executive Director MMHJS, and in hurry to go to other soft postings in the Government, have prioritized the works of Mubarak Mandi restoration as per their own whims, fancies and convenience.
Not only this but interestingly in subsequent annual governing body meetings of MMHJS, held under chairmanship of present Chief Minister Omar Abdullah, these in-charge Executive Directors (Directors of Tourism) have slowly been able to bring about changes in the original reuse plans and led by their misplaced enthusiasm to earn browning points from political master, succeeded in having entrusting the conservation of Central Courtyard (Diwan-e-Aam) and Raja Ram Singh Palace to the engineers from Civil Construction Division of Tourism, who do not have much experience in highly technical nature of architectural conservation.
In fact a mega project like restoration of Mubarak Mandi needs to have an Executive Director of the level of senior IAS officer, who enjoys the powers of a major head of the Government Department. The post of Executive Director therefore needs to upgraded to the level of Principal Secretary or Commissioner level to be able to monitor and also ensure proper liaison between different departments of the state as well as the Central Government.
Latest Status: A look at the minutes of the latest and fifth meeting of the MMJHS Governing Body held on Dec 6, 2013, under the chairmanship of Omar Abdullah, confirms the sad state of affairs where list of still pending works include complete shifting of LT/HT lines, tackling monkey menace, expression of interest of Heritage Hotel. The other items which figure in minutes are maintenance of heritage complex, selection of alternate executing agency, setting up of a new museum and up gradation of Dogra art museum, stabilization of hill slope above circular road on Tawi side, reuse plan of restored buildings etc. The minutes are totally silent with regards to creation of the post of Executive Director of MMJHHS, establishment of separate sub-division of civil works for Mubarak Mandi and creation of alternate parking sites.
The ASI has agreed to take up further restoration projects at Mubarak Mandi and it will soon start work on Gadvai Khana and Baddi Deodhi project which is to be finished in four years time period with initial estimated cost of Rs. 9.80 crores in first phase.
Need for Capacity Building: Under a situation where ASI, the only executing agency which is already looking after 69 protected monuments of the State, coupled with shortage of technical manpower in Srinagar Circle, has reluctantly agreed to further take up restoration of Gadvai Khana and Baddi Deodhi, that too in four years time period, the only alternative left with the State government is to undertake time bound exercise of capacity building by creating a technical cadre of talented local young men and women, who can be sent for training in fields of architecture conservation and engineering, art conservation, heritage management, etc only to become part of dedicated conservation wing for Mubarak Mandi. Until the State Government instead of deputing temporary basis officers and engineers from here and there, establishes a dedicated conservation wing manned by our own technical human resource, it cannot accelerate the speed of restoration at Mubarak Mandi. It would also put an end to the State’s continuing dependence upon outside experts and agencies especially when a long term mega project such as Mubarak Mandi restoration has the potential to stretch on for decades.
Shifting of ASI office to Mubarak Mandi: To ensure the speeding up of restoration works being undertaken by ASI, it is important that ASI’s State’s Circle Office, presently operating from a rented building in Jammu is shifted in one of the many buildings of the complex, the restoration of which would automatically become ASI’s responsibility. Such a shifting of ASI’s office to Mubarak Mandi will act as catalyst for their operations as well as allow ASI to act as on-sight technical consultants for other local agencies involved in restoration along with issues related to reuse of the complex in form of museums and other exhibition spaces.
Declaration of Heritage Zone: Declaring the Darbar Garh and its surrounding areas in upper old city, as the heritage zone has yet to be initiated and become the most important part around which Jammu master plan has to evolve in keeping with the international practice where heritage and importance lies at the centre of all urban future planning. Accordingly shifting of certain services, creation of multi-story parking lots, no-car zones, exit roads, public utilities, facilities have to be planned and executed. To achieve this a concerted effort of many agencies is required.
Economic Potential: Mubarak Mandi complex that used to house lower courts and high courts, more than 72 Government offices, being an administrative and judicial centre was visited by people from all over the state. The neighboring markets of Panjtirthi, Pacca Danga, Jain Bazaar, Kachi Chowni, Purani Mandi and even Raghunath bazaar did a brisk business by catering to the myriad needs and requirements of the thousands of visitors and floating population of hills and highland citizens of the State. But since 2008, when Mubarak Mandi complex was vacated for the purposes of restoration, the neighborhood markets wear a deserted look as the business here has been reduced to a trickle.
The sooner Mubarak Mandi is developed as a cultural heritage tourism destination, the better it would be for the local economy. It is also a well known fact that a natural link exists between cultural heritage tourism and regional development.
The Mubarak Mandi complex comprising of Royal Palaces and Secretariat of the Dogra kings and rulers of erstwhile Princely State of Jammu and Kashmir, being one of the highest embodiments of Dogra art and architecture and one of the most remarkable and unique expression of architectural heritage in Jammu and Kashmir, having the potential to be a world heritage monument, will further suffer irreparable damage if the present state of adhocism in its conservation continues. There is an urgent need to have a revamp of the working of MMJHS and take timely measures so that Mubarak Mandi is restored to its pristine glory and it emerges as a unique destination for cultural heritage tourism and contributes towards economic development of Jammu and well as the state.
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