Puri: In a significant ruling for protection of religious endowment properties in Odisha, the Commissioner of Consolidation, under the Board of Revenue, Odisha has restored a prime parcel of land measuring 28.84 acres in the name of Lord Jagannath.
The correction of land records was ordered in Shankarpur Mouza of Puri tehsil, and directed to be registered in the name of ‘Shree Jagannath Mahaprabhu Bije, Puri, Marfat Temple Management Committee.’
The land, located adjacent to the Omkareshwar Temple, is estimated to be worth over Rs 600 crore. The order was passed on October 30 in Consolidation Revision Case No. 303/2016.
The disputed land, recorded under Hal Khata No. 411, was originally registered in the name of Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu during the 1962-63 settlement after it was donated by the then-Mahant for the deity. The settlement records published in 1977 also reflected the ownership of the Mahaprabhu through the Uttar Parshwa Math Endowment Trust Board, Puri.
The land register prepared during the subsequent consolidation process initially recorded the property in the deity’s name. However, an order dated June 18, 2010, passed by the Additional Sub-Collector, Puri, in R.R.C. Case No. 66/2010, transferred the land in the name of the Mahant. The change was effected within four weeks days without the temple administration’s notice. A patta was then issued in the Mahant’s name in 2013.
The Shri Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) challenged the disputed land records and approached the Commissioner of Consolidation in 2016. SJTA produced historical documents, including the Yadasht record prepared during the settlement, to establish that the land had been dedicated to Shri Jagannath Mahaprabhu.
Advocate Ambika Prasad Mishra, who appeared for SJTA, presented several judicial precedents of the Supreme Court and High Courts in support of the deity’s ownership rights.
The Chief Administrator of SJTA said they had consistently been taking steps to protect the Mahaprabhu’s landed properties, ensure accurate maintenance of records and secure their legal rights.
The temple administration also acknowledged timely cooperation and submission of relevant documents during the proceedings.