Jajpur: The state government has sanctioned a whopping Rs 38.14 crore in the first phase for land acquisition under the ambitious development and beautification project of Maa Biraja Temple in Jajpur district, an official said Friday.
The state government is all set to beautify the temple and its campus like other heritage sites of the state. The project will give a facelift to the shrine, encircling 54 Shiva temples, Muktimandap, Dolamandap, Ananda Bazaar, bhog shops and other basements in and around its premises.
This fund will also be utilised for temple administration building along with modern amenities for the visitors. The target is to beautify the temple on the lines of Puri Srimandir and Lingaraj Temple in Bhubaneswar. A master plan has been prepared for the purpose, the official added.
As per the approved project plan, around 6.338 acre of private land would be acquired. Earlier, Rs 35.55 crore was sanctioned July 28, 2021 which the locals termed as insufficient. So, an additional fund of Rs 2.59 crore was sanctioned for land acquisition.
Recently, Works department special secretary wrote to the chief engineer stating that prescribed norms of the state government should be adhered to while carrying out land acquisition.
As the frontage of Biraja Temple is quite narrow, the government has decided to evict at least 50 local shopkeepers running their business in front of the shrine and rehabilitate them.
Meanwhile, the temple administration has submitted the blue print of the upcoming temple with mock demo to the district administration. On the other hand, detailed project report (DPR) has been finalised and approved by the government.
Notably, in order to carry out overall development of the shrine, 0.340 acre of land at Unit-5 of Krushnaprasad Nagar under Jajpur tehsil, 1.412 acre of land at Unit-14 of Birajakhsetra, 0.287 acre of land at Unit-15 of Nabhigaya and 4.139 acre of land at Unit-5 and 0.16 acre of land at Unit-9 of Krushnaprasad Nagar have been demarcated for acquisition, the Works department letter mentioned.
Worth mentioning, this iconic temple, having a great tourism potential, has immense religious and socio-cultural significance.
