Odisha reconstitutes Jagannath temple treasury audit supervisory panel

In February, the previous Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government formed a 12-member committee on a high court order for the preparation of the inventory of the valuables in the Ratna Bhandar

Published on: Jul 5, 2024, 10:18:16 IST

By Debabrata Mohanty

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The Odisha government disbanded former Supreme Court judge Arijit Pasayat-led 12-member committee hours before it was due to meet on Friday to discuss the modalities of audit and inventorisation of Puri Jagannath temple treasury Ratna Bhandar. It has constituted a 16-member panel led by former Orissa high court judge Biswanath Rath to replace the committee and to supervise the process.

Odisha law minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said the new panel will meet in Puri on Saturday to discuss the modalities of opening the treasury. He added a date will be announced on that day.

Sand artist Sudarshan Patnaik, retired police officer Prakash Mishra, and former bureaucrat Jagdish Mohanty will be among the members of the new panel. The temple’s chief administrator will be the member-convenor.

In February, the previous Biju Janata Dal (BJD) government formed the 12-member committee on a high court order for the preparation of the inventory of the valuables in the Ratna Bhandar. The old committee held two meetings and it was due to meet for the third time on Friday.

The Ratna Bhandar near the sanctum sanctorum of the temple has two chambers—Bahara Bhandar (outer chamber) and Bhitara Bhandar (inner chamber)— containing gold and silver jewels offered to Lord Jagannath.

As per the last inventory dating back to 1978, 454 gold articles weighing 128.380 kg and 293 silver items weighing 221.530 kg were in the two chambers. The inner treasury had 367 gold items weighing 43.640 kg and 231 silver articles weighing 148.780 kg. The outer treasury had 84.74 kg of gold and 73.64 kg of silver.

The outer chamber is opened for rituals of deities. The inner chamber has been closed since 1978. The Jagannath Temple Act says there has to be an audit of all valuables in the inner chamber every three years.

The reopening of Ratna Bhandar was a major poll plank in this year’s assembly elections. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) highlighted the “disappearance” of the treasury key in 2018.

Top BJP leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union home minister Amit Shah spoke about Odia Asmita (Odia pride) and targeted the Naveen Patnaik-led BJD government over it. In its election manifesto, the BJP promised an audit and inventorisation of the treasury if voted to power.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Debabrata Mohanty
Debabrata Mohanty is a senior assistant editor of Hindustan Times who works as state correspondent from Odisha covering the state's politics, governance, public policy, natural disasters, environment and its society for close to three decades. With his long years of reporting from the state capital of Bhubaneswar, Mohanty has been known as one of the most experienced and credible journalists covering Odisha for the national English dailies. His reporting combines on-ground detail with deep institutional knowledge detailing the state's changing politics, governance issues, administrative reforms and the functioning of its public institutions. He has regularly reported on issues ranging from legislative developments and public policy implementation. Politics is his core areas of expertise as he closely tracks Odisha's political landscape, including the rise and transformation of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the Biju Janata Dal (BJD), the two principal political parties in Odisha. His long association with the state's political establishment enables him to write on contemporary developments in a larger political context. Mohanty takes a deep interest in writing human interest stories, environmental issues and documenting the impact of cyclones, floods, heatwaves, and other climate-related events in one of the most disaster-prone states. His coverage extends to public health, governance reforms and stories on accountability of government institutions. Before joining Hindustan Times, Mohanty worked with The Indian Express, Mail Today, and The Telegraph, where he covered at least six general elections and as many assembly elections. In 2007, he was selected for the prestigious Chevening Young Indian Print Journalist Programme at the University of Lincoln, United Kingdom, where he received advanced training in print journalism. In 2009 he won the Press Institute of India-International Committee of Red Cross award on conflict reporting for his on-ground reportage of 2008 Kandhamal riots.Read More

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