Bylaws on Puri Jagannath temple withdrawn following request by Patnaik
(Sourced from PTI)
After Odisha Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and delegations of BJD and BJP MPs urged the Centre to withdraw the draft bylaws notification issued by the National Monuments Authority (NMA) stopping any developmental work within 100 meters radius of Shree Jagannath temple in Puri, it was taken back on Monday. NMA, placed under the Union Ministry of Culture, had issued the notification on January 18.
A public notice stated that the draft heritage bylaws of Shree Jagannath temple and subsidiary shrines together with adjacent areas comprised in survey plots 1, 2, and 3 district Puri has been withdrawn due to technical glitches, and the revised notice will be issued later.
NMA had published the draft heritage bylaws on its website nma.gov.in and invited suggestions from the public till February 18. With the communique sparking a strong resentment across state, a delegation of BJP and BJD MPs met Union Culture Minister Prahlad Singh Patel, who assured them that the order would be taken back. The decision was welcomed by everyone, including the servitors of Puri.
"Nobody can stop the work of Lord Jagannath, " Patnaik had said earlier in the day during his visit to the shrine. The Chief Minister also thanked the local people of Puri who have sacrificed their lands for the Shree Jagannath Heritage Corridor (SJHC) project.
The State Government has been carrying out the development project 75 meters from the boundary wall of Shree Jagannath temple in Puri for which the people have donated their land. After meeting Patel in the national capital, Union Minister Pratap Sarangi said the Central Government has no such intention to put restrictions on the developmental works being carried out around the temple.
"Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a devotee of Lord Jagannath and he would not allow anyone to create a problem in Puri. The issuance of the NMA draft bylaw communique was a bureaucratic error that was released by mistake," Sarangi said in a statement.
The NMA said the draft heritage bylaws have been prepared as per Section 20(E) of the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 2010 and Rule 18 of National Monuments Authority (Appointment, Function, and Conduct of Business) Rules, 2011. The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration had requested to annul the notification immediately "to protect the interest of the Lords, sevaks, and devotees at large."
"I request you to immediately withdraw the draft notification. You are invited for a detailed consultation and discussion with members of Shree Jagannath Temple Management Committee before any fresh attempt is made," SJTA chief administrator Krishan Kumar said in a letter to NMA member secretary.
