BHUBANESWAR: The Lingaraj Temple Ordinance is yet to be promulgated even though it was cleared by the state government four years back for better administration of the 11th century shrine. The delay is puzzling as the state had complied with multiple objections raised by the Ministries of Culture, Law & Justice, and Rural Development (department of Land Resources) on various provisions of the ordinance.
In December 2020, the state cabinet had approved the ordinance for vesting of management of the affairs of Lingaraj temple and its properties including shrines situated within its premises besides other temples and mutts, in a committee for its better administration and governance. The committee was to be called Shree Lingaraj Temple Managing Committee, drawn along the lines of Shree Jagannath Managing Committee at Puri. Currently, the Centrally-protected shrine is being governed by the Odisha Hindu Religious Endowment Act, 1951.
The ordinance was sent from the Governor’s office to the Ministry of Home Affairs on December 29, 2020. According to official reports, between 2020 and 2023, there have been seven occasions when the ministries raised objections on different aspects of the ordinance, the most important of them being violation of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (AMASR) Act and National Monument Authority norms.
The ordinance covers 12 Centrally-protected monuments in Ekamra Kshetra including the Lingaraj temple and three holy tanks. The Ministries of Law and Culture proposed that any new construction within the prohibited and regulated zones of these monuments should be done in adherence to the AMASR Act rules. Subsequently, the state cabinet on September 29, 2021 approved the Centre’s proposal to stick to AMASR Act for conservation of the 12 monuments and amended the ordinance by incorporating a new sub-clause.
On April 8, 2022, the Ministry of Law and Justice stated that it had no objection to promulgation of the ordinance. The Home and Culture ministries, though, objected to the presence of shops within and outside Lingaraj temple on the ground that the shrine cannot be used for any purpose not inconsistent within its character.
In its reply, the state government clarified that the ordinance intends to minimise the number of such shops. Besides, the ordinance gives powers to the temple committee to undertake repairs of protected monuments whereas ASI is responsible for the job. The ministries had also objected to this stating that if repairs are taken up by non-expert agencies, it will be difficult to maintain the monuments in their original form.
Officials in the Law department said all the proposals made by the Centre were incorporated in the ordinance by adding new sub-clauses. The last query raised by the Home Ministry was if the proposed legislation was Constitutionally valid and the department had sent its reply.
The state had also requested for the President’s instruction to the Governor of Odisha for promulgation of the ordinance. However, over a year has passed since then and the ministry is yet to follow up on the ordinance, the officials added.
Law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan was not available for comments.
