LUCKNOW: As the survey of residences and shops in the 22 Kunj Galis (narrow lanes) leading to the Banke Bihari temple in Vrindavan continues, 30 per cent of it already completed, the Mathura district administration has prepared an elaborate plan to rehabilitate the sevayats, the Goswamis, who have been openly opposing the Banke Bihari Corridor project.
The plan includes relocating the sevayats to Rukmani Vihar in Vrindavan. The Goswami community, comprising hereditary priests, has been performing religious and priestly duties at the Banke Bihari temple for centuries.
The Supreme Court recently gave the green light to the Banke Bihari Corridor, an ambitious initiative aimed at easing crowd congestion and enhancing the overall pilgrimage experience around the revered shrine. Following this, the state government brought in an ordinance to create a Trust to run the temple and oversee the development of the proposed corridor.
After a visit by Awanish Kumar Awasthi, the special advisor to the Chief Minister, to Vrindavan on June 6, the project gained momentum.
The Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority (MVDA) is working on a two-pronged strategy: first, conducting a survey of Kunj Galis comprising 286 houses and shops, and second, accelerating the rehabilitation of residents from 188 houses to new luxury flats at Rukmani Vihar and Sunrakh Bangar. The administration hopes that offering better accommodation will help pacify the sevayats.
According to Mathura District Magistrate Chandra Prakash Singh, the development of the Banke Bihari Corridor, intended to improve facilities for the lakhs of devotees visiting the temple, is being expedited. He stated that physical verification is underway for 5.5 acres of land required for the corridor, alongside planning schemes to rehabilitate those displaced by the project.
The DM added that landowners affected by the corridor will be resettled in Rukmani Vihar and Sunrakh Bangar. “The land for the residential project has been identified, and the flats will be developed by the Mathura Vrindavan Development Authority,” he said.
He mentioned that out of the 275 landowners affected by the project, 200 are shopkeepers who will be allotted shops within the new corridor. They will also receive compensation based on the extent of land and shop area affected.
MVDA Vice-Chairman Shyam Bahadur Singh stated that between 325 and 350 flats, both 1 BHK and 2 BHK, will be built on four expansive land parcels under the Rukmani Vihar Residential Scheme. If required, additional flats will be constructed by marking out adjoining land. Additionally, 3.5 acres of land has been earmarked at Sunrakh Bangar for residential purposes.
Singh noted that plots at Rukmani Vihar Group Housing Scheme will be divided into four size categories: 3924.91 square metres, 2844 square metres, 1800 square metres, and 1504 square metres.
Meanwhile, Rajat Goswami, former vice-president of the now-defunct managing committee of the Banke Bihari temple, claimed that the district administration has not shared any such rehabilitation plan with them. “We are not in a position to react,” he said.
He added that the administration should take all stakeholders into confidence before making such plans public.
On 15 May, the Supreme Court approved the state government’s project to develop the Banke Bihari Corridor for the benefit of devotees. The apex court also allowed the government to utilise temple funds to purchase five acres of land for the corridor.
Subsequently, on 27 May, the state government established a Trust to manage the Banke Bihari temple and oversee the development of the proposed corridor.