Jammu, March 5: Governor Satya Pal Malik chaired the 8th Governing Body meeting of the Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society at the Raj Bhavan here Tuesday.
Umang Narula, Principal Secretary to Governor; Rigzin Samphel, Secretary Tourism; Sanjeev Verma, Divisional Commissioner Jammu; Deepika Sharma, Executive Director, Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society; Zubair Ahmed, Secretary Govt. Department of Culture; Zulfikar Ali, Representatives of Archaeological Survey of India and Sanrakshan Heritage Consultants Private Limited attended the meeting.
Governor gave approval to the Master Plan for Conservation and Adaptive Re-Use of Mubarak Mandi Palace Complex as per the proposed Zoning(A-F) which includes Central Courtyard, Knowledge Centre, Interpretation and Collection Galleries, Lifestyle, Experiential Spaces, and Crafts Centre. Execution of these sub projects will be funded under Jammu and Kashmir Infrastructural Development Financial Corporation Ltd. for an estimated amount of Rs. 66 crore.
Governor observed that the Mubarak Mandi Palace Complex represents the unique and rich cultural heritage of Jammu and Kashmir and its repair and renovation should be done by observing complete heritage norms and using material similar to the old construction material. He stressed appropriate maintenance of Parks and Gardens in the complex and directed Sanjeev Verma to identify suitable parking space for the visitors and residents of the adjoining areas.
On being informed about the progress of preservation and shifting of archival records to old information building, and to date completion status of various buildings in the Complex, Governor emphasised on expediting digitization of the archived records belonging to the Dogra period and throwing open to visitors the part of the Complex which gets completed.
Governor advised Samphel to fully develop the potential tourist places of Jammu region so that tourist and pilgrim traffic could be diverted to the scenic places of Jammu.
