BHUBANESWAR: The state government on Wednesday posted two more officers to the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) to strengthen the shrine management as well as administration of the landed property of the Trinity.
As per a notification issued by the General Administration & Public Grievance department, OAS officer and ADM, Ganjam, Debabrata Sahoo has been appointed administrator (development) of SJTA. Another OAS officer and sub-collector, Khurda, Dipti Ranjan Sethi has been appointed deputy administrator (revenue) of SJTA. In addition to his duties, Sethi will look into the management of the landed property of the Trinity situated in the Khurda district, the notification read.
The appointments come days after SJTA decided to tighten its vigil on stone quarries and land belonging to the temple. According to official reports, close to 60,000 acres of land are registered in the name of the Trinity in 24 districts of the state. The SJTA, though, has a record of rights of 35,000 acres the rest have been under the occupation of various people for decades. Of the 35,000 acre, 20,000 acres are in Khurda and Puri districts.
A majority of stone quarries are located in Khurda district. The SJTA had recently served to show cause notices to 19 leaseholders of temple-owned stone quarries located in Khurda based on Odisha Minor Minerals Concession (Amendment) Rules, 2016 on charges of mining beyond the lease limit.
Earlier, Law Minister Prithviraj Harichandan stated that all the stone quarries in the Khurda district belong to the Shree Jagannath Temple, and many of them have been encroached upon. The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) decided that, under the revised Minor Mineral Concession Rules, the state government would be approached to allow mining officers or deputy directors of mines under the Steel and Mines Department to manage the stone quarries and mines belonging to the temple. Previously, the quarries and mines were managed by the sub-collector or tehsildar.