Cuttack: The Orissa High Court has declined to interfere with the plan of work regarding inventorisation of the valuables including jewelleries stored in the Ratna Bhandar of Shri Jagannath Temple and repair works of its interior walls as prepared in the meeting of the Shri Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC) held on 4th August, 2023 on the advice of the Superintending Archaeologist, ASI.
A division bench of the High Court comprising of Chief Justice Subashis Talapatra and Justice Savitri Ratho directed the Odisha Government to constitute a high level committee if they are approached by the SJTMC for supervising the process of inventorisation of the valuables including jewelleries stored in the Ratna Bhandar.
The division bench ruled that such a Committee be constituted by the State Government within a period of 60 days from the date when the SJTMC will approach them.
The Committee shall assist the SJTMC in carrying out inventorisation, the division bench added.
The bench while disposing of the writ petition observed that the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) and Shri Jagannath Temple Managing Committee (SJTMC) will collaborate actively on the conservation works of the Ratna Bhandar and expected that the State Government would come forward for efficient management when their cooperation would be sought by the SJTMC.
The High Court had completed the hearing on the writ petition on the safety of the Ratna Bhandar and transparency in respect of the valuable articles stored in the Ratna Bhandar on Tuesday and had kept its order on the matter reserved.
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