Satya Pal Malik approves master plan for conservation of Dogra dynasty royal residence

Jammu and Kashmir Governor Satya Pal Malik Tuesday approved the master plan for conservation and adaptive reuse of the Mubarak Mandi palace complex, the royal residence of the Maharaja from the Dogra dynasty, here. "Malik gave approval to the master plan for conservation and adaptive reuse of the Mubarak Mandi palace complex as per the proposed zoning (A-F) which includes a central courtyard, knowledge centre, interpretation and collection galleries, lifestyle, experiential spaces, and crafts centre," an official spokesperson said.

He said the execution of these sub-projects would be funded under the Jammu and Kashmir Infrastructural Development Financial Corporation Limited for an estimated amount of Rs 66 crore. The governor gave his approval to the master plan while chairing eight governing body meeting of the Mubarak Mandi Jammu Heritage Society at Raj Bhavan here, the spokesperson said.

Addressing the meeting, Malik said the Mubarak Mandi 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 a material similar to the old construction material. He stressed appropriate maintenance of parks and gardens in the complex and directed the concerned to identify suitable parking space for the visitors and residents of the adjoining areas.

Mubarak Mandi, located in the heart of the old-walled city overlooking the Tawi river, was the main seat till 1925 when the last Maharaja Hari Singh moved to the Hari Niwas palace in the northern part of Jammu. 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, the governor emphasised on expediting digitisation of the archived records belonging to the Dogra period and throwing open to visitors the part of the complex which gets completed.

Malik advised the concerned to fully develop the potential tourist places of Jammu region so that tourist and pilgrim traffic could be diverted to the scenic places of the winter capital, the spokesperson said.

(With inputs from agencies.)