BHUBANESWAR: Khurda Collector has urged National Monument Authority (NMA) to immediately withdraw the proposed heritage bylaws for Lingaraj Temple. Interestingly though, the Central authority says it is yet to come up with a draft bylaw for the shrine.
In a letter to member secretary of NMA Sanjukta Mudgal, Collector Sanat Kumar Mohanty, also the president of Lord Lingaraj Temple Trust Board, said the draft bylaws will have a direct impact on sevayats which would affect continuity of niti kanti (rituals) of the Lord Lingaraj. He also pointed out that Odisha government recently acquired land around the shrine for implementation of Ekamra Kshetra development project.
Officials of NMA, however, said the process of framing heritage bylaws for Lingaraj temple has not started yet. “In due course of time, heritage bylaws for all monuments in Ekamra Kshetra including Lingaraj will be prepared as mandated under the AMASAR Act-2010. But as of now, there is no such draft bylaw for Lingaraj temple”, said an official of the heritage protection agency, requesting anonymity.
Ekamra Kshetra has 28 monuments/sites that are conservation custody of the ASI including six around the protected Lingaraj temple. The NMA though had issued a public notification of draft heritage bylaws for Ananta Basudeva and Brahmeswar temples on January 18 which prohibit construction within 100 metre of a temple and regulate constructions on further 200 metres.
The 11th century Lingaraj temple is currently protected under Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act 2010 (AMASR Act) and categorised as a Special Heritage Zone by the Bhubaneswar Development Authority. Both AMASR and BDA (Planning and Building standard) Regulation 2008 prohibit and regulate constructions within its 100 to 300 metre.
Ananta Basudeva is located within 300 metre radius of Lingaraj temple. While the draft bylaws for Ananta Basudeva covers a section of the Lingaraj shrine in its regulated zone, those for Brahmeswar have Bhaskareswar and Megheswar temples within the 300 metre radius. “Since the 100 to 300 metre radius of Lingaraj and all the 6 protected temples around it is overlapping, the monuments will come under protected, prohibited and regulated zones of each other”, he said.
While the AMASR Act already restricts and regulates new constructions within 300 metre radius of a protected monument, the bylaws define height of structures, floor area, colour of facade and other architectural features of new constructions within regulated zones of monuments. In another development, the public suggestions for draft heritage bylaws for the 10th century Mukteswar temple were tabled before the Parliament. Meanwhile, the Endowment Commissioner also wrote to NMA on the day asking it to withdraw draft bylaws for Brahmeswar temple.