MONDAY, AUGUST 23, 2021 DAILY EXCELSIOR, JAMMU Excelsiordaily Established 1965 Heritage Preservation : Strategic through tactical Founder Editor S.D. Rohmetra Kamal Singh Oberh and amenity to the communities to which they State revenues, business receipts, employment, Mubarak Mandi. belong. wages and salary. Various states including Madhya Pradesh, Centrally Sponsored Schemes n today's world, the status of kings, palaces When done well, adaptive reuse can restore Travellers, often opt to live in heritage hotels. Uttarakhand, Punjab etc are converting the forts and royal families have been reduced to that and maintain the heritage significance of a build- The romance, nostalgia and the elegance of the and palaces into heritage Hotels to boost the of relics that belong to an era long gone past. f the stress is only on completing necessary for- I ing and help to ensure its survival, rather than past are some of the reasons. When Taj Lake potential of tourism. Madhya Pradesh Tourism In their time, even though the grandeur of these Department has given Tajmahal situated in malities in respect of various Centrally falling into disrepair through neglect or being ren- Palace, Udaipur first opened its doors to travellers places was for a selected few, it served the pur- dered unrecognisable. Heritage buildings that are in 1963. "There was no such thing as tourism in Bhopal on lease to be converted into a heritage ISponsored Schemes operating in Jammu and pose of both making a statement and preserving sympathetically recycled can continue to be used Rajasthan. The airport did not exist; there were no hotel, Moti Mahal of Gwalior and Mahendra Bha- Kashmir just for getting the pending Central share the art of the land. In today's world, with every- and appreciated. flights and no tourism infrastructure to speak of. van of Panna are also in the race. RFP's have been released, then perhaps the focus would be less than thing else eliminated, palaces and heritage build- The Heritage hotel that is being proposed in Today Rajasthan is leading state in Indian issued for development of heritage hotel at Raj- ings remain the treasure trove of local arts and cul- the Mubarak Mandi seems to have stirred a con- Tourism. Among the first fort palace to be restored garh Palace, Datia. Kyoti Fort Rewa, required on ensuring the successful implementa- Vijayraghavgarh Fort,Katni. International char- tural traditions. Standing tall, they remain a testi- troversy where opinions are being rallied and hype into a hotel was Neemrana Fort Palace, once a tion of these schemes. Usually, it has been seen like ters on heritage management are emphasising on mony to the rich heritage associated with their is being created as it being against the public sen- grim ruin that merged into the dusty Aravalli hills, the sustainability of heritage management, The that which trend needs to be reversed . However, individual niches. With time frozen between rocks timents. It is only prudent to mention that the pro- The ruins were conserved and restored using tra- and bricks that lay under their plastered edifice, Burra Charter recommends Adaptation via arti- that aspect too being included in the fresh direc- posed hotel is only in a small part of the entire ditional materials, Local craftsmen were hired to cle 21, it states 'Adaptation is acceptable only they represent a past that we all remain in awe of; complex, the major portion of the complex is restore the fort-palace. The property was turned tions issued by the UT Government to all the that past is also something that we owe it to our where adaptation has minimal impact on the cul- Government departments is to ensure that the being designed for public use. The heritage hotel into a hotel to ensure that it earned enough to be tural significance of the place'. If we are to pass future generations. is being proposed in the zenana areas of the able to pay for its maintenance. The devastated revised procedures of such schemes were imple- Heritage buildings, like our elders, need very on our built heritage to future generations in a Mubarak Mandi complex- an area which was not gigantic complex around it were restored through better condition than we inherited it, liberaliza- mented in letter and spirit. That all departments careful handling and delicate management. It is a accessible for the normal public even in the era of minimum intervention. long-drawn slog that continues through the years tion of the cultural sector needs to be brought in should be strictly completing all formalities as per the dynastic rules. It lies in the rear portion of the World over the role of heritage and responsibility entrusted to private entities, and decades and there is no shortcut of faster alter- complex. So, the argument that the hotels would regeneration/development as a tool for sustain- universities, non-profit organizations and conser- the prescribed formats and ways so that the pend- native to this approach. Needless to say, that in ing Central share was released, was primarily to put the Mubarak Mandi out of the public domain able development is now recognized and vation efforts could ensure that the highest stan- addition to human care and attention, such struc- needs to be examined before forming an opinion. acknowledged- a fact underlined by inclusion of dards are met. bridge the gap of required funds and availability tures incur heavy financial burden and unless The revenue generated via the hotel complex heritage regeneration as a tool for sustainable Many of the Indian ruler commissioned forts, thereof in running such schemes quite satisfactorily. something is done to ensure an organic way of sus- would help to manage the facilities of the larger development in achieving 17 SDG set out by palaces and temples in times of drought as a life- The other part of the matter is to find ways to cause taining these jewels, deterioration and eventual complex. United Nations. As per the Niti Aayog Working saving economic incentive for the populace. obliteration happens without exception. Urban regular increase in revenue realisation along with The larger vision for Mubarak Mandi heritage Group report on Improving Making use of these heritage assets for the pub- development in a developing nation like that of lic good would keep the spirit alive of our ances- assessing performance in this respect. Such exer- complex is to rejuvenate it as a cultural centre Heritage Management in India, (June 2020) ours, remains a huge grey area. Our borough reflecting the art and culture of Dogras and the The Centre and State Governments should lever- tors while simultaneously creating an economic cise needs to be done at regular intervals looking to expansions are not only unregulated, many of such Jammu region. It is envisaged that the cultural age India's massive network of heritage sites as asset that continues to pay rich dividends for the dire need of augmenting the revenues of and swellings happen to be unlawful. Yet a combo of centre would be a place of pride and would help a tool for development and employment genera- years to come. widening its base in the UT Government. well-oiled system of greased palms and a formi- in economic regeneration of the entire communi- tion by providing improved services to domestic Only a limited number of heritage buildings dable degree of lack of empathy, concern and own- ty of Jammu. and international tourists through public-private- are tourist attractions; for the rest, new functions We have to appreciate and imbibe in the working need to be incentivized and planned. To be mean- ership, willy-nilly results in bringing down Sustainability partnership. "Economic sustainability is a key ingful, conservation works need to be coupled culture, introduction of and more stress on the inevitable stress on to such structures. Despite The underlying philosophy for the Conserva- challenge in conservation and development of need to adopt transparency which can be possible many such buildings and monuments having been with urban improvements, improved transport tion and Restoration should be the 3 'R's being heritage sites for tourist/visitor interest, state infrastructure, providing economic opportuni- not merely by issuing formal circulars and instruc- declared as protected ones, neglect, vandalization 'Repair', 'Restore' and 'Reuse'. The objective of funding can get it going, but it is critical that a and encroachments keep happening as a matter of ties, and improving health, education and sanita- tions but changing and revising procedures and conservation should be to sustain the building self-sustaining economic cycle kicks in, this is tion infrastructure. Only then will heritage assets routine. and/or the traditional skill and knowledge system especially true for the major protected monu- even rules, that were more or less just confined to Such a poor state of preservation of a large part be valued by those living around them. Conser- of building. In this context, continuity of use must ments, and these have potential to generate rev- vationists have often expected local communities formal paper work only, to pave way for the same. of our national heritage is a result of the inability be seen as evolving over time. Conservation of enue that can help conserve, protect and develop of those entrusted with their care and management to contribute towards the conservation effort That, in other words, means that at Central levels, architectural heritage and sites must be integrat- the others." while not offering any incentives and imposing of such assets. Even in cases where some amount ed with the social development. Conservation- The working group on ''Improving Heritage heavy restrictions. Such an approach is not suc- procedures are now more tightened in respect of of care is being taken, lack of application on part releasing funds for implementing Centrally oriented development must be the preferred strat- Management in India'', was set up in the year 2019 cessful.