BHUBANESWAR: Under fire from the Opposition political parties for spending funds without budgetary provision for development of temples, the State government on Saturday earmarked Rs 1,950 crore for taking up renovation of different religious places.
Stating that with the objective of conserving and developing the places of religious and cultural importance, many iconic projects have been undertaken across the State, the Finance Minister said that Rs 1325 crore has been provided for the Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture (ABADHA) scheme at Puri.
The provision under the scheme include Rs 200 crore each under EKAMRA and SAMALEI schemes. Besides, Rs 150 crore has been provided under the “Integrated Development of Heritage, Monuments and Tourists Destinations scheme.”
Pujari said that Chandi temple at Cuttack, Nilamadhav temple at Kantilo, Sarala temple in Jagatsinghpur district, Harishankar and Nursinghnath in Balangir and Bargarh districts will also be developed under the scheme.