SRINAGAR: The Administrative Council (AC) which met here under the chairmanship of the Lieutenant Governor, Manoj Sinha, approved the transfer of administrative control of Toshkhana Organization from the Hospitality & Protocol Department to the Department of Culture.

Rajeev Rai Bhatnagar, Advisor to the Lieutenant Governor, Dr. Arun Kumar Mehta, Chief Secretary, J&K and Nitishwar Kumar, Principal Secretary to the Lieutenant Governor attended the meeting.

The ‘Toshkhana' houses the royal gifts and antique items of the erstwhile Dogra Rulers of Jammu & Kashmir.

In Jammu, the articles of the Toshkhana have been stored at Mubarak Mandi Heritage Complex, whereas, the articles in Srinagar have been kept in a locker at Saddar Treasury, Srinagar.

The decision to transfer the administrative control of the Toshkhana to the Department of Culture will synchronize its functioning with the Department of Archives, Archaeology and Museums under the Department of Culture and citizens will be able to have better information about their heritage.

Further, the Administrative Council also sanctioned the transfer of sanctioned posts and incumbent staff of the Toshkhana Organization to the Culture Department along with all records and immovable/moveable assets.