The controversy over the draft heritage bylaws for the Puri Sri Jagannath temple notified by the National Monuments Authority (NMA), which was fast building up as yet another Centre versus state issue in Odisha, has been quickly doused with the Union Ministry of Culture withdrawing the rules on Monday. The proposed norms for the temple of Odisha’s most revered Lord, and imposing restrictions on constructions and developmental works around it had evoked outrage.
The timing of the bylaws, when much progress has been made on the heritage corridor project that entails beautification and all-round development of the temple periphery by the state government, was put to question. Understandably, there was a big political backlash against the NMA move from not only the ruling BJD but also the BJP. CM Naveen Patnaik paid a visit to the temple to send a message and demanded immediate rollback. MPs of the BJP from Odisha, including two Union ministers, followed by another from the BJD, met Union Culture Minister Prahlad Patel, leading to the withdrawal.
This newspaper broke the story on the restrictive bylaws framed by the NMA, which has now hopefully reached closure. It has been two years since the BJD government announced the ambitious heritage corridor project under which encroachments were demolished and land was acquired to create a secure zone for the shrine and a spate of amenities for devotees who throng the venerated dham in lakhs from across the globe every year. The project was taken up with much fanfare and every detail was in the public domain—which is why it was surprising that regulations for such a sensitive matter could be formulated without consultation with the state government or the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration.
Patel’s statement that the draft bylaws were notified without the knowledge of the NMA chairman is even more intriguing. The abode of Lord Jagannath is not just another monument of antiquity; it is an inseparable part of Odisha’s socio-religious and cultural heritage. Now that sanity has prevailed, the central monuments authority should be careful before treading on emotive matters. This must be a lesson for the future.