Srinagar: Jammu and Kashmir Lieutenant Governor administration has decided to outsource Kashmir's Royal Springs Golf Course, a decision criticised by former Chief Minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti who alleged that J&K assets "have been put on sale". Managing Director of Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Development Corporation Mingu Sherpa has asked the management to provide asset details of the golf course.
"Some properties of JKTDC and Directorate of Tourism Jammu and Kashmir are proposed to outsource on a PPP mode. Royal Spring Golf Course (RSGC) has also been included in the list of Outsourcing. So furnish details of the course," Sherpa has asked the secretary of the Golf Course.
Slamming the decision, Mehbooba said this was 'yet another step to sell assets of Jammu and Kashmir to non-local businesses'. "Kashmir is the oldest golfing destination not just in South Asia but perhaps East of Suez. Gulmarg, Kashmir Golf clubs are the second oldest after Calcutta. Our golf clubs are not a mere real estate as GOI is treating the state but an essential part of our identity and heritage," Mehbooba said.
Criticising the LG administration, she said if the present administration finds the maintenance difficult because of its inherent inefficiency and agenda, "it should focus on improving the organisation running golf courses and hire experts from anywhere." Spread over an area of 300 acres on the banks of the Dal lake in Srinagar, the Royal Springs Golf Course was designed by the renowned American golf course architect Robert Trent Jones Jr. and was opened for play in 2001.
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