Odisha govt nominates ex-CAG Girish Murmu, nine to Jagannath Temple panel

The Odisha government on Tuesday nominated 10 people, including former Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India Girish Chandra Murmu, to the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC).

The appointments have been made under the provisions of the Shree Jagannath Temple Act, 1954 (Odisha Act 11 of 1955), according to the notification issued by the Law department. The administration of Lord Jagannath's temple in Puri is under the Law department of the state government.

The Gajapati Maharaja, the titular king of Puri, Dibya Singh Deb, is the permanent chairman of the SJTMC. The SJTMC is considered the apex body of the 12th-century shrine, and the chief administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA), who is an IAS officer, is the secretary of the SJTMC.

Apart from Murmu, Chartered Accountant AK Sabat and eminent culture researcher Mahesh Kumar Sahoo have been nominated to the SJTMC.

The other members nominated to the SJTMC are: Dr Siddheswar Mohapatra, representing 'Mukti Mandap' (The highest religious matter decision-making body in the temple), Krushna Chandra Sarmantray, Madhusudan Singhari, Jagannath Pujapanda, Ganesh Dasmohapatra, Ramnarayan Gochhikar (all represent servitors) and Raghubir Das Maharaj of Balaramkot Matha, who represents Mathas and other institutions.

The BJP government in the state was earlier criticised from different quarters for not reconstituting the SJTMC after the tenure of its members expired in September 2024.