Bhubaneswar: Odisha Cabinet, under the chairmanship of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Wednesday, amended the Shree Jagannatha Temple Act, 1954 to decentralise the process of owning, leasing, and mortgaging the temple land.
Earlier the persons who had occupied or were in possession of temple land for long had to approach the State Government for the sale or transfer of the land. The State Government had also formed an ‘UNIFORM POLICY’ for this purpose in the year 2003.
As the process was time taking with many applications pending for years, the amendment has decentralised the process empowering the Chief Administrator of Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) and the Temple Management Committee to settle the lands.
It will not only solve the problems of the people who are residing on the temple land for over 50 years but also the Temple can also enhance its income with the sale of unused land.
