Puri Heritage Corridor: Old Information Boards Go Missing, Raises Eyebrows

Puri: The Puri Heritage Corridor Project, which has run into a controversy with the opposition BJP accusing the BJD government in Odisha of flouting rules governing protected monuments, has further raised eyebrows with old information boards missing from the site.

The old boards have been replaced by new ones, which simply mention about the construction of toilets for men and women, according to reports. The information kiosk near ‘Paschima Dwara’ has also been removed, the reports said.

Earlier, plaques and diagrams had been placed near the temple, containing information about the project. A plaque, believed to have been put up by the authorities, informed about the toilets, reception hall and information centre that will be built. Another plaque had information about the pillars to be constructed. A diagram showed in detail the construction plan at the western gate.

Meanwhile, Odisha Legislative Assembly Speaker Surjya Narayan Patro on Monday said a meeting of the eight-member House Committee, which has been formed to inspect the project, will be held soon.

“Discussions will be held with the Works Department and the Law Department first, and the next course of action will be decided following a meeting with the House Committee members. The meeting hasn’t been delayed, I have had discussions with all of them individually,” he said.

The Puri Heritage Corridor Project, a beautification plan around the 12th-century Jagannath temple, has snowballed into a huge controversy with the ruling BJD and opposition BJP crossing swords over the issue.

The BJP’s main objection to the project is that digging and excavation are allegedly being carried out within the ‘prohibited area’ of the temple, a protected monument. It has alleged that the state government has taken permission from neither the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) nor the National Monument Authority (NMA).

Areas up to 100 metres of a protected monument fall under ‘prohibited area’ in which any type of excavation and construction is totally prohibited. Areas up to 200 metres beyond the ‘prohibited area’ fall under ‘regulated area’, in which permission from the competent authority is required to carry out any construction.

The BJP has also questioned the use of heavy machinery for digging work close to the temple after BJD’s claims that only toilet blocks and civic amenities were being constructed.

Odisha Chief Secretary Suresh Chandra Mahapatra has, however, said all work was being done in coordination with the ASI.