Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has sought a response from the state government and the endowment commissioner on a plea alleging non-payment of more than Rs 1 crore in auction dues by six shop holders at the Maa Sarala Temple in Jagatsinghpur district.
The court posted the matter for October 7.
Maa Sarala Temple at Kanakpur in Tirtol block is one of Odisha’s prominent Shakti shrines dating back to 16th century.
The petitioners, Ambika Mohanty and two others, have sought the HC’s direction for a joint inquiry by the Commissioner of Endowment, Odisha, and Assistant Commissioner of Endowment, Cuttack, into the alleged non-payment of the auction dues.
Hearing the plea, a bench of Justices SK Panigrahi and MS Raman directed the state government and commissioner of endowment to file their replies before the next date of hearing on October 7.
The petitioners have also sought directions for taking appropriate steps to recover the outstanding amounts from the six auction holders.
According to the petition, the executive officer of Maa Sarala Temple had auctioned shops within the temple premises for sale of bhog and lamps for the three years. Six highest bidders were subsequently handed over the shops but they allegedly defaulted on payment of the auction amounts.
The petitioners claimed that the outstanding dues from the auction holders total more than Rs 1 crore and have not yet been recovered. The plea gave details of the alleged defaults, stating that one auction holder owed Rs 35 lakh, while another had outstanding dues of Rs 23.60 lakh. Two others allegedly defaulted on Rs 20.99 lakh and Rs 19.42 lakh, respectively.
