On Monday, the Odisha Cabinet approved new regulations aimed at digitizing the management and settlement of land associated with the 12th-century Jagannath Temple. This initiative is designed to enhance oversight and prevent issues such as encroachment and fraudulent claims. The move reflects a commitment to accountability in handling temple property, ensuring that land is managed more effectively under a monitored system.
The rules provide for oversight by the Shree Jagannath Temple Managing Committee, which will issue no-objection certificates for all settlements. The government has prescribed valuation norms based on the Benchmark Value (BMV) or Average Land Sale Statistics (ALSS), whichever is higher. The norms will apply to different categories of beneficiaries, including temple servitors, non-servitors and others.
The Shree Jagannath Temple Land Management Rules, 2026, framed under the Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955, would replace the Uniform Policy, 2003, and its amended version of 2019 and establish greater transparency and accountability in the management of temple land, officials said. The state government has identified 60,426.943 acres of land belonging to the Jagannath temple in and outside Odisha. Of this, 395.252 acres of land is located in states such as West Bengal, Maharashtra, Madhya Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.
