Puri, The Jagannath Temple in Odisha’s Puri has bank deposits of nearly ₹ 1,912 crore and owns 60,821 acres of land across the country, besides possessing gold and diamond ornaments kept in its Ratna Bhandar, a statement said.
The remaining income is kept in the temple fund,” SJTA chief administrator Arabinda Padhee said in the statement on Wednesday. “Some specific part of the income is kept in fixed deposits as Corpus Fund and another part is kept in fixed deposits as Foundation Fund. The temple’s gold, diamond and other valuables are kept in the Ratna Bhandar under tight security.
₹ 1,811.10 crore was held in fixed deposits under three schemes as on August 31, according to the statement issued by the Shree Jagannath Temple Administration . Of this, ₹ 1,311.10 crore has been deposited in various public sector banks, while the remaining ₹ 500 crore is a corpus fund provided by the Odisha government and kept in the temple’s profit and loss account, it said. The temple also had ₹ 100.71 crore in various savings, current and flexi accounts as on August 31, taking its total bank deposits to around ₹ 1,911.80 crore. As of August 31, devotees had donated ₹ 56.71 lakh through the digital platform, the statement said. The temple owns 60,821 acres of land across the country, of which 60,426 acres are spread across 24 districts of Odisha, and the remaining 395 acres are located in six other states, including West Bengal, it said. Their inventory is currently being carried out after a gap of 48 years, officials said. At least seven incidents involving theft of cash, ornaments and idols had been reported at the temple in the past 25 years, police said.
The SJTA said its income is mainly derived from devotees’ donations, earnings from temple-owned quarries and mines, interest on fixed deposits, sale and acquisition of land, and government grants. The temple’s daily expenses are met from the temple fund, while the remaining amount is kept in fixed deposits, he said, adding that the administration’s primary responsibility was to maintain all its assets properly. The temple’s Hundi donations are counted every day, and details are displayed on information boards and published on social media to keep the public informed, the administration said. The temple also launched a digital donation platform, “Samarpan”, shortly before the Rath Yatra on July 15 this year, allowing devotees from across the world to make donations and obtain receipts.
Temple Clerk Caught Stealing Donation Money
In February 2024, a clerk at a temple was recorded on CCTV stealing ₹31,940 during the counting of donations. This incident follows a similar case from the previous year, when a temple peon was arrested for allegedly taking ₹800 during the same process.
The temple, which dates back to the 12th century, operates under the Odisha government’s Law Department as per the Shri Jagannath Temple Act of 1955. The repeated incidents of theft raise concerns about the management of donations and the safeguarding of funds intended for the temple’s maintenance and community services.
