The Hindu : Nizam's jewels: Ministry yet to decide on location

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Sep 14, 2003

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Nizam's jewels: Ministry yet to decide on location

By Anita Joshua

NEW DELHI SEPT. 13 . Over a year after the Chandrababu Naidu Government in Andhra Pradesh secured an assurance from the Centre that the famed Nizam's jewels would be displayed permanently in Hyderabad, a decision on where to exhibit this timeless treasure in that city still evades the Union Culture Ministry; primarily because of the phenomenal cost involved in securing the collection worth over Rs. 15,000 crores.

As of now, two options are being considered: building a separate complex for the jewels within the Salar Jung Museum or housing them at the Gems and Jewellery Park that is being set up at Banjara Hills as was suggested by the State Government recently. Given the logistics and costs involved in creating a permanent exhibition space for the jewels — just exhibiting them temporarily last year had proved to be a drain on the Ministry's resources and had led to the early closure of the exhibition — an early decision is more or less ruled out.

Though the Ministry appears more inclined to house the Nizam's jewels in the Salar Jung Museum in Hyderabad, it is considering the feasibility of housing them at the Gems and Jewellery Park.

A major concern is securing the collection which at present lies locked up in the vaults of the Reserve Bank of India in Mumbai.

According to officials in the Ministry, the logistics involved in exhibiting the jewels necessitated detailed planning besides a sizeable allocation. "We need to construct a gallery to international specifications and put up fool-proof security mechanisms with round-the-clock surveillance.

Several crores would be needed to build the exhibition space and put in place the gadgets needed to secure the jewels. This apart, there is the recurring cost of running such an installation.''

After the Government acquired the jewels in 1995 following a protracted court battle that went on for over a score years, the collection was first exhibited in the capital in December 2001 and then taken to Hyderabad as part of a three-city travelling exhibition. Though the jewels were to be later exhibited in Mumbai, the huge expenditure involved in mounting them for public viewing forced the Ministry to bring the curtain down on the exhibition ahead of schedule.

While the Ministry was inclined to keep the jewels locked up till the opening of the special jewellery gallery that was being planned in the now under-construction new wing of the National Museum in the Capital, Mr. Naidu lobbied hard with the Centre in June last year and succeeded in securing the return of the collection to the State.

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