Puri: The Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae, Ranjit Kumar, on Saturday gave a clean chit to the Odisha government saying that the ongoing eviction drive near the Jagannath temple in Puri is in public interest.
Kumar said this after a closed-door meeting with Puri Collector Balwant Singh, Advocate General Ashok Parija, chief administrator of the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and other members of the Jagannath Temple Managing Committee.
The amicus curiae said he had not come to Puri to discuss the issues related to the eviction drive with the stakeholders.
“The Supreme Court had directed us to visit Puri to see whether the Odisha government’s decision to make this pilgrim town a world heritage city was being properly carried out and if the people were facing any difficulty,” he added.
“We had a meeting with the temple managing committee and went around the four sides of the temple to oversee the eviction drive. What I found is that the state government has taken the right decision for the benefit of the people of Puri to make it a world-class heritage city,” he said.
Kumar further said that there should be no protest against the eviction drive as the state government has formulated a blueprint to beautify Puri. “I urge the people of Puri to cooperate with the state government in its effort in this regard,” he said.
On the demolition of structures around the temple periphery, the amicus curiae said no one was forcibly evicted. Rather the district administration is evicting the people only after taking their consent, he said.
He also referred to the famous Nagarjuna Besha of the Lords next year for which around 15 lakh devotees will throng Puri. “Taking this into consideration, the state government should take adequate steps from now,” he added.
In the meanwhile, several stakeholders affected by the eviction drive and members of civil societies and Srikshetra Suraksha Manch have expressed displeasure as the amicus curiae did not meet them.
“We were hoping yo convey our grievances about the government’s rehabilitation policy to the amicus curiae. The fact is that the state government is yet to provide the rehabilitation package to the affected people after evicting them during the Nabakalebara festival in 2015. In this connection, we are not in a position to take the government into our confidence,” said senior sevayat Damodar Padhani.
