The Darbhanga Museum has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking intervention after a conservation team failed to complete work on rare artefacts.
The request for high-level government help follows seven years of unanswered reminders sent to the Lucknow-based National Restoration and Conservation Limited (NRLC). The situation threatens the preservation of significant historical items that remain in a state of incomplete restoration.
According to museum records, NRLC took an advance payment of Rs 82.5 lakh [1]. Despite this financial arrangement, the conservation team made only one visit to the museum in Darbhanga, Bihar [1].
Officials said the company failed to return the advance payment and left the conservation of more than 150 rare artefacts unfinished [1]. The museum spent seven years sending reminders to the NRLC team to resolve the matter [1].
The museum has now escalated the issue to the Prime Minister's office. The letter outlines the failure of the contracted team to fulfill its obligations, and the subsequent risk to the collection's integrity [1].
NRLC is based in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, and was tasked with the specialized restoration of the museum's holdings [1]. The museum officials said they have not yet received a resolution regarding the missing funds or the incomplete work [1].
“NRLC took an advance of Rs 82.5 lakh, made only one conservation visit to the Darbhanga Museum”
This escalation highlights a breakdown in the oversight of specialized cultural preservation contracts in India. When professional conservation firms fail to deliver on technical mandates while retaining public funds, it creates a physical risk to irreplaceable heritage items that cannot be easily restored once further decay occurs.
