Odisha govt sanctions Rs 40 cr to acquire land near Jagannath temple

The Odisha government has sanctioned Rs 40 crore for the purchase of land for the development of a 'Heritage Security Zone' around the Jagannath Temple in Puri.

Bimalendu Ray, Joint Secretary to the state government wrote a letter to the Chief Engineer, DPI (Design, Planning, and Investigation) and Roads, Nirman Soudha in Bhubaneswar on this aspect.

"...I am directed to inform you that you are permitted to place a lump sum fund to the tune of Rs 40 crore available in Land Acquisition Head of Account for the purpose of land acquisition/direct purchases and R&R packages in respect of the aforesaid works and other related projects in Puri," said the letter dated September 30.

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Redevelopment Projects

The three redevelopment projects in Puri were approved by Naveen Patnaik on September 5. The redevelopment projects included a project worth Rs 25 crore for the reconstruction of Raghunandan library, a housing project worth Rs 95 crore for rehabilitation of the displaced people from the security zone of Jagannath Temple, and a project to construct the Heritage Security Zone.

The Raghunandan library, located on the premises of the historic Emar Mutt will be developed as a centre for Jagannath Culture Research. The library was recently demolished under the ongoing demolition drive within a radius of 75-meters of the temple. The Raghunandan library was established in the year 1921 by the then Mahant of the age-old Emar Mutt. Rare palm-leaf manuscripts and books on various subjects in Sanskrit, Odia, and Bengali are still available within the library.

Under the planned housing project, 600 houses will be constructed for the displaced people within 1.5 kilometres radius of the temple.

The Jagannath Temple of Puri

The Shree Jagannath Temple in Odisha is an important Hindu temple dedicated to Lord Jagannath, a form of Lord Maha Vishnu. The present temple was rebuilt in the 10th Century by the first King of Eastern Ganga Dynasty, Anantavarman Chodaganga Deva.

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