BHUBANESWAR: The National Monument Authority (NMA) has granted no objection certificate (NOC) for construction of the Shree Jagannath Reception Centre - the most important component of the Shree Mandira Parikrama project.
The facility will come up in the regulated zone of the shrine. It was initially proposed in the prohibited area of Srimandir. In a ‘special agenda’ meeting recently taken up by NMA Chairman Sachchidand Joshi in New Delhi, it was recommended that the reception centre may come up in the regulated area at a distance of 101.5 metre from the main temple within a height limit of 7.5 metre in G+1 plan. In the original plan, the centre was proposed over an area of 7,917 sq metre in a G+2 structure.
The centre will manage a queue of 6,000 persons and provide facilities like a cloakroom, drinking water, toilets to the visitors. It will be built over half an acre of land available next to Shree Jagannath Heritage Corridor on the south-east side.
NMA sanctions NOC to reception centre of Parikrama Project
NMA sources said the SJTA had proposed for relocation of the effluent treatment plant from the prohibited area to the regulated zone of the temple and the NMA has asked it to submit a separate proposal to the
competent authority for construction of this facility. In this case, the competent authority is the Director of Culture department, Government of Odisha.
In September last year, NMA - a body under Ministry of Culture - had given no objection to construction of public amenities including cloak room, mini cloak room, shelter pavilion, one each female and male toilets, a sevayat toilet, electrical room and pavement area including a place to stand in queue for toilets and reaching the sanctum sanctorum which are permitted under the exception clause to the definition of
‘construction’ in Section 2(dc) of AMASR Act, 1958. NMA recommended SJTA to construct another additional sevayat toilet and cloak room on the western side of the shrine in the prohibited area.