BHUBANESWAR: The National Monument Authority (NMA) under Union Ministry of Culture has allowed the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to construct the Shree Jagannath Reception Centre - the most important component of the Shree Mandira Parikrama project - in G+2 structure.
In September last year, the NMA had recommended the reception centre may come up in the regulated area of the Srimandir at a distance of 101.5 metre from the temple within height limit of 7.5 metre in G+1 plan. As per its original plan, SJTA had proposed the centre over an area of 7,917 sq metre in G+2 structure.
SJTA chief administrator Ranjan Das on Thursday informed following the no objection certificate issued by NMA for the reception centre last year, a fresh application was sent to the authority to allow the reception centre construction in G+2 plan. “The application was filed considering the fact that the number of devotees to the shrine and their requirements will increase by many times in the future. The NMA has recently granted SJTA permission to undertake its construction in G+2 plan. A letter in this regard has been received by the director of Culture department, NMA’s competent authority in Odisha,” he said.
The reception 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 land available next to Shree Jagannath Heritage Corridor on the south-east side. Besides, NMA has allowed construction of 13 mutts in the regulated zone (beyond 200 metre) and 17 in the prohibited area (100 metre from the protected limits of the Srimandir), Das informed.
It has also allowed increasing the height of SJTA office to 12.1 metre. In case of the SJTA office too, the NMA had in September last year allowed its construction in the regulated area by restricting its height to 7.50 metre (all inclusive). Official sources in the NMA said in a special meeting on April 25, the monuments authority had accorded NOC for 33 different developmental activities proposed in the prohibited and regulated areas of the Srimandir.
Shrine plan
The reception centre will manage queue of 6,000 persons
It will have facilities like cloakroom, drinking water and toilets
NMA has allowed construction of 13 mutts in the regulated zone and 17 in prohibited area