Puri: The National Monument Authority (NMA) has granted permission for construction of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) office within Regulated Zone in Puri.
Chief Administrator of SJTA Rajnan Kumar Das said that the NMA has given its no objection certificate (NOC) for construction of the temple administration officewithin the regulated zone of 200-metres of the 12th century shrine.
Stating that the temple administration has got a copy of the NMA letter sent to the Culture department of the state government, he said necessary steps will be taken to start the construction work as soon as possible.
The SJTA office building is proposed to be constructed at Chudangasahi in the seaside pilgrim town as part of the ambitious Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor project. The proposed three-storey building will have a reception centre and other facilities.
This apart, the NMA has also accorded NOC for complete renovation of 30 maths, including 13 in the regulated area. The SJTA had sought permission for the proposed work.
NOC has also been granted by the NMA for the construction of a reception centre for the devotees with adequate facilities within the regulated zone.
It may be noted that a high-level team of the NMA had visited Puri town in December, 2022, to take stock of the heritage corridor and other projects.
The team, led by NMA chairman Kishor K Basa, was on a visit on the invitation of the state government to review the Shree Mandir Parikrama (heritage corridor) project around Jagannath temple in the town.
The NMA team had reportedly taken up the issue of the SJTA building height during the meeting. While the Authority had sought a detailed project report (DPR) restricting the height of the SJTA building to 7.5 metre, the SJTA wanted a review of the restriction and increase of the height to 13 metre.
Besides, the fresh DPR sought by NMA on construction of the Shree Jagannatha Reception Centre outside the restricted zone of Jagannath temple also figured in the discussion, sources said.
