Trust Board Of Lingaraj Temple Dissolved, Interim Body To Look After Shrine Affairs

Bhubaneswar: For better management of the Lingaraj Temple affairs, the Endowments Commissioner on Wednesday dissolved the existing Trust Board of the 11th century shrine and constituted a nine-member interim body.

The interim body with Khurda Collector as its chairperson will have a tenure of one year, an official notification said.

The other members are Bhubaneswar Additional District Magistrate, Bhubaneswar-II ACP, BMC’s (Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation) Additional Commissioner, government pleader of Bhubaneswar court, representatives of three servitor communities of the temple and an advocate, it added.

The move assumes significance amid allegations of mismanagement and infighting between servitor groups over encroaching and selling of land of the Lord.

The new trust board will also expedite the proposed reform measures and ensure development of the heritage zone, sources said.

In December last year, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had announced a special package for infrastructural development and protection of the Lingaraj Temple here. The 66-acre Ekamra Kshetra Yojana would be implemented for conservation of the glorious heritage of the shrine and its adjoining areas.