Odisha govt to reform land settlement policy, amend Jagannath Temple Act: Min

Bhubaneswar, Dec 30 (PTI) The Odisha government will reform the Uniform Land Settlement Policy, 2023 and amend the Shree Jagannath Temple Act, 1955 for the smooth management of affairs at the 12th-century shrine in Puri, Law Minister Prithiviraj Harichandan said.

He made the announcement after chairing a high-level meeting in which matters related to the temple's landed properties and security aspects were discussed.

"It was resolved that reforms would be brought in the Uniform Land Settlement Policy of 2003, and amendments would be made and certain provisions added in the Shree Jagannath Temple Act, 1955, which is around 70 years old," Harichandan told reporters.

The minister said that though the temple has over 55,000 acres of land in Odisha and six other states, it did not get required revenue from them.

In certain places, lands have been encroached upon by private persons and they do not give revenue to the temple.

Though these people have been occupying the temple lands for decades, they do not have land rights. In the process, neither the temple nor the persons occupying the land benefit, he said.

In Puri, many poor servitors have settled on temple lands and they also do not have rights to the place where they are staying. Therefore, the Uniform Land Settlement Policy, 2003 should be reformed for both the parties to get benefits. The temple corpus fund will increase once the policy is reformed, he said.

Official sources said Lord Jagannath owns 60,426.943 acres of land located across 24 districts of Odisha, and another 395.252 acres of temple land were traced in six states -- West Bengal (322.930 acres), Maharashtra (28.21 acres), Madhya Pradesh (25.11 acres), Andhra Pradesh (17.02 acres), Chhattisgarh (1.7 acres) and Bihar (0.27 acres).

The minister said the meeting also deliberated on necessary amendments to the SJT Act to ensure disciplined rituals, worship, and administration. Key proposals included forming sub-committees for better governance, enforcing strict rules against disorderly conduct, and banning items such as mobile phones and cameras fromthe temple premises.

The state law commission has already held two rounds of talks on the matter and made certain suggestions to include some provisions to make strong laws to streamline discipline in the temple, a senior official said.

The day's meeting also laid emphasis on promoting awareness among devotees to maintain decorum and sanctity of the shrine by wearing appropriate Indian attire during visits to the temple.

The meeting also discussed the matter of taking legal measures against those spreading misinformation about Shree Jagannath culture or engaging in defamation on social media, he added. PTI AAM AAM ACD