BHUBANESWAR: The Odisha Assembly on Saturday unanimously adopted a resolution proposed by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Srimandir Parikrama Yojana (Jagannath temple corridor plan) to be implemented by the State government at an estimated cost of Rs 3,200 crore within the next couple of years.
Making a statement through video conference, the Chief Minister called upon members cutting across party lines to support early completion of the corridor plan of the Jagannath temple at Puri.
Maintaining that it is the responsibility of the people of Odisha to preserve Srimandir by ensuring proper implementation of the corridor plan, he said everybody should be given opportunity to contribute to the effort. He also thanked people of Puri for their contribution towards the plan. The Chief Minister said the corridor plan was conceptualised basing on the recommendations of the Justice BP Das Commission on three aspects - security of the temple, security of lakhs of devotees visiting the shrine and creating a spiritual environment for the devotees.
Accordingly, the corridor plan was finalised after several rounds of discussion led by Gajapati Maharaja Dibyasingha Deb with different stakeholders. He thanked the Gajapati Maharaj, Padma Vibhusan Raghunath Mohapatra and former chief secretary Subas Pani for their immense contribution to the formulation of the plan. As per the plan approved by the Shri Jagannatha Temple Managing Committee, 22 projects will be executed in three phases and Rs 800 crore will be made available from ABADHA scheme initially followed by Rs 265 crore more in the first phase. Around 15.65 acre land has been acquired for the heritage corridor.
While land has been purchased directly from 115 families, 512 shops and 24 lodges were evicted for the 75 metre corridor project. Besides, properties of 25 mutts have been acquired for the project. The government has so far paid Rs 289.34 crore for acquiring land for the purpose. Leader of Opposition Pradipta Kumar Nayak and leader of the Congress Legislature Party Narasingha Mishra supported the corridor plan in the Assembly.
The Gajapati Maharaj also thanked the members of the Assembly for passing the resolution. He said this historic project undertaken by the government under the leadership of the Chief Minister marks the beginning of a significant process for transforming Shri Jagannath Dham to its rightful place as one of the foremost religious, spiritual and cultural centres of the world. “May Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu bless this historical endeavour with complete success,” he said.