*Unlikely to submit report to LC on time
Mohinder Verma
JAMMU, Dec 9: Under-mining the authority of State Legislature, several bureaucrats have not been extending required cooperation to a Joint House Committee on Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex thereby creating obstacles in carrying out the task assigned to it by the Upper House. Now, the Committee has conveyed to Chairman of the Legislative Council that if the non-cooperation continues it may not be able to submit the report before the forthcoming session.
Official sources told EXCELSIOR that the announcement about formulation of Joint House Committee was made by the Government on the floor of the Legislative Council during the Budget Session held in the month of June this year after members from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and People’s Democratic Party (PDP) alleged that fire incident in the historic Mubarak Mandi Complex on February 9, 2009 was part of a conspiracy.
Some of the Members of Legislative Council had even stated that it should also be ascertained if items from the Toshakhana (treasure house) were shifted before or after the fire incident and what steps are being taken to ensure preservation of such items so as to prevent any further damage.
On September 30, 2016, Chairman of Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Council, Haji Anayat Ali formally constituted a 12-member Joint House Committee to inquire into the fire incident, shifting of items from Toshakhana, demolishing of park and historical Chabutra in the premises of complex and other connected issues.
The Joint House Committee headed by National Conference MLC, Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo was asked to submit its report before the next session of the Legislature so that House could deliberate on the same for passing necessary directions to the Government.
“Right from its very first meeting the Joint House Committee has not received the required cooperation from the relevant quarters thereby creating impediments in carrying out the task assigned to it by the Upper House”, sources said, adding “on one side there is lack of cooperation and on the other side vague replies were furnished to the Committee by some stakeholders”.
They informed that no plausible reply has so far been furnished to the Joint House Committee about reasons behind demolition of park and Chabutra in the premises of complex, which was viewed very seriously by the then Chief Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed while chairing the meeting of Mubarak Mandi Heritage Society.
“The then Chief Minister had asked the Divisional Commissioner Jammu, who is also the member of Governing Body of the Mubarak Mandi Heritage Society, to fix the responsibility for demolition of park and Chabutra and ensure that the same are reconstructed with same aesthetic features”, sources informed.
Similarly, Protocol Department, which is headed by Chief Minister, has yet not informed the Joint House Committee about preservation and upkeep of the items of Toshakhana which were shifted out of the historic Mubarak Mandi Complex reportedly following fire incident, they said, adding “the information provided by the Police Department vis-à-vis fire incident is also vague”.
When contacted, Chairman of the Joint House Committee, Sajjad Ahmad Kichloo confirmed non-cooperation from all the relevant quarters and said, “despite repeated reminders the officers of Department of Culture, Protocol Department and Divisional Commissioner’s Office have not furnished the requisite information to the Committee so far”.
“In the absence of necessary cooperation from all the relevant quarters it is not possible for the Joint House Committee to accomplish the task assigned to it by the Chairman of the Legislative Council”, he said, adding “all the members of the Joint House Committee have unanimously conveyed to the Secretary of the Legislative Council the non-cooperation from the officers of concerned departments”.
Stating that Joint House Committee was directed to submit report before next session of State Legislature, which is likely to commence from next month, Kichloo said, “as much information is still awaited from the departments we may not be able to submit the report if the non-cooperation persists as such we found it imperative to bring this to the notice of Chairman of the Legislative Council through Secretary of the House”.
In response to a question about enquiry into fire incident, he said that Police Department has conveyed that investigation could not yield any positive result and FIR has been closed as ‘untraced’. “This speaks of lack of professionalism on the part of concerned police officers…..how can they be so non-seriousness towards the grave issue”, remarked Chairman of the Joint House Committee.
He further said that Joint House Committee has already arrived at a conclusion that decision of shifting Toshakhana items to Protocol Department should be reversed and the same shall remain with the Mubarak Mandi Heritage Society.
“It is a matter of serious concern that parking of vehicles is still being allowed in the premises of Mubarak Mandi Complex which is hampering the restoration work”, he said while responding to another question.
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