PURI: The Odisha government has approved the standard operation procedure (SOP) for fresh inventory of the three Ratna Bhandars of the Shree Jagannath Temple.
The 14-page SOP prescribes setting up of two high-level bodies - one to supervise the entire operation and another to physically handle the ornaments during inventory and tallying.
Chief administrator Arabinda Padhee on Tuesday presented the SOP before the Chhatisha Nijog and informed that the 14-page protocol has received approval of the government.
As per the SOP, Padhee said, the Challanti Bhandar (ornaments for daily use) and Bahar Ratna Bhandar will be inventorised in the presence of a magistrate and designated temple functionaries. The entire process will be video-graphed and the records stored in digital catalogue form.
Similarly, the Bhitar Ratna Bhandar will be inventorised under stricter supervision as per the SOP. The supervising body, consisting of a three-member panel, will oversee the inventorisation, and a 10-member handling team will operate to place the ornaments as per their categories.
Two members from the Ratna Bhandar committee have been included as members of the handling committee. The chief administrator will head both the panels. In his absence, the deputy chief administrator will chair the committee, he informed.
The temple administration has prepared special chests, designated to store gold, silver, and other ornaments separately. Every chest will contain a list of ornaments stored in the chest.
Two senior officers from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI), as many goldsmiths empanelled in SBI or other public sector banks, and two government-nominated gemmologists would be part of the inventory process. As per principle, the valuation will not be made, but the exact grade of precious gems and semiprecious stones used in the ornaments will be mentioned, Padhee informed.
Padhi said the draft proposal for the inventory was prepared by the legal sub-committee of the Srimandir after studying the modes followed during the 1978 inventory before it was presented to the government for approval.
Steps have been taken to ensure uninterrupted darshan of the Trinity during the inventory period. Devotees will be allowed to have darshan from a distance at Bahar Katha. Special ritual and festival days will be avoided while scheduling the inventory work, he added.
With only 135 days remaining until Niladri Bije, the concluding ritual of the annual Rath Yatra, the administration effectively has just 35 workable days, as preparations for the festival will require suspension of work for nearly 100 days, the chief administrator said.
The proposal for inventorisation process would be placed in the temple managing committee scheduled for next week. The date for beginning the work will be fixed on an auspicious day, Padhee added.