Odisha govt sanctions Rs 40 cr for land acquisition around Jagannath Temple

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

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

"...I am directed to inform you that you are permitted to place a lumpsum 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.

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

The Raghunandan library within the premises of the historic Emar Mutt will be developed as a centre for Jagannath Culture Research. The library was demolished recently as part of the ongoing demolition drive within a radius of 75-metres of the temple.

The heritage library was established in 1921 by the then Mahant of the age-old Emar Mutt. The library has rare palm-leaf manuscripts and books on various subjects in Sanskrit, Odia and Bengali.

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