It is now almost two years since the completion of the much-hyped Mantalai Yoga and Wellness Centre under the Prime Minister’s Development Package, yet the facility remains locked and lifeless. Spread over 450 kanals, the project was billed as Jammu’s gateway to global wellness tourism. Instead, it stands as yet another silent reminder of administrative inertia, a testimony to how poor planning and bureaucratic red-tapism can derail the best of ideas. What makes the situation all the more ironic is that Mantalai was not a greenfield project conceptualised out of thin air. It was essentially the renovation and upgradation of a decades-old world-class infrastructure created by the vision of Swami Dhirendra Brahmachari, which had already placed Mantalai on the map of yoga and spiritual practice in earlier times. The executing agencies and the Tourism Department knew from the very outset what final shape the complex would take. Yet, shockingly, there was no parallel roadmap prepared on how to operationalise it once the renovation was complete.
The project was handed over to the Patnitop Development Authority in November 2023 after completion. Since then, apart from hiring a private security agency, PDA has done little more than watch over the idle infrastructure. With limited manpower and financial resources, PDA is in no position to manage a complex of this magnitude, which requires constant maintenance, technical support, and a professional operating model. The inevitable result will be that by the time a final decision on outsourcing is made, the infrastructure will have already slipped into decay, demanding fresh repairs at an additional cost to the exchequer.
The excuse offered is the delay in finalising the Request for Proposal for outsourcing. Drafts are being prepared, revised and sent back for changes. Financials were “recently finalised” but still need incorporation. Meanwhile, two years have been lost. Such prolonged indecision is inexcusable. The Government has already chalked out a clear policy of outsourcing tourism assets to minimise recurring losses. Yet, Mantalai has joined the growing list of half-complete or unused assets-huts at Jammu Golf Course, JhajjarKotli complexes, and several other infrastructures under different development authorities-that are rotting for want of final outsourcing decisions.
This failure has cascading effects. Tourism is not just about creating infrastructure; it is about generating livelihood, attracting investment, and diversifying the economy. Local tourism operators rightly point out that every passing season without Mantalai being operational is a lost opportunity for employment and business. Unfortunately, this is not an isolated story. Jammu Tourism has long been shackled to the Shri Mata Vaishno Devi pilgrimage, which brings nearly one crore visitors annually. While successive Governments have spoken about diverting this footfall to alternative sites, the ground reality is dismal. Projects such as the Tawi riverfront, the artificial lake, the water park at Sidhra, the Surinsar-Mansar rejuvenation plan, all were announced with fanfare but remain incomplete, stalled, or directionless. Without creating viable, functional alternatives, the dream of extending tourists’ stay beyond the pilgrimage route will remain elusive.
The Mantalai debacle highlights the same malaise: grand announcements followed by poor execution and no accountability. The reality is, no tourist site achieves instant footfall. It requires years of sustained marketing, professional management, and gradual building of reputation. That process should have begun in 2023. Instead, the clock has not even started ticking.
The Government needs to intervene immediately. If the RFP has shortcomings, let them be addressed as a priority. A definite timeline must be set and adhered to. Leaving a world-class facility to rust for years is criminal neglect of public money and public trust. Mantalai’s grand wellness complex was projected as Jammu’s pride. Today, it stands as a monument of delay, emblematic of the administrative inertia that has plagued tourism development in Jammu for decades. The wait must end now. Mantalai should see the light of day before yet another tourism dream turns into an expensive ruin. Jammu division desperately needs projects of uniqueness and public attraction, and Mantalai must not be allowed to meet the fate of stalled promises.
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