Jagannath Temple Heritage Corridor Project - UPSC Current Affairs

Why in the News?

A sculpture of a lion, which possibly dates back to the Ganga dynasty, was found during excavation for the controversial heritage corridor project around the 12th century Jagannath Temple in Puri, Odisha by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI).

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Probable Question

Jagannath Temple in Puri is a fine specimen of the Pancharath style of Odissian temple architecture. Comment

Key Points

About Puri Heritage Corridor Project

• The Puri Heritage Corridor Project is a ₹3,200-crore redevelopment project to create an international heritage site.
• It includes redeveloping major portions of the holy town and in the vicinity of the temple for visitors and tourists.
• Under the umbrella project, falls the Shree Jagannatha Heritage Corridor (SJHC) or the Shree Mandira Parikrama Project, for the revamp of the area around the temple.
• A total of 22 different projects will be executed in a phased manner.
• Funding: 
  • The Government allotted initial funds of ₹800 crore for the first phase of the Project from its Augmentation of Basic Amenities and Development of Heritage and Architecture at Puri (ABADHA) scheme introduced in 2019.
• Implementation:
  • The project has been taken up by the Odisha Bridge and Construction Corporation (OBCC) under the State’s Works Department, Tata Projects is the implementing authority.

Why has it become a subject of controversy?

• The Jagannath temple has been designated a monument of national importance by the Archaeological Survey and is a centrally protected monument. 
• As per the Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains (Amendment and Validation) Act (AMSAR), construction is prohibited within a 100-metre periphery of a protected area. 
  • The area extending to 200 metres around the monument in all directions is called a regulated area. 
• As per the provisions of the AMSAR Act, the National Monuments Authority (NMA), set up in 2011 under the Ministry of Culture, is charged with protecting and preserving ASI-protected sites by managing the prohibited and regulated area in the periphery of such a site.
•  If construction has to be undertaken in the regulated or prohibited area, permission from the NMA is required.

Also Watch:

About Jagannath Temple: It was constructed by a famous king of Ganga Dynasty Ananta Varman Chodaganga Deva dating back to the 12th century. It is a fine specimen of the Pancharath style of Odissian temple architecture.   It is one of the Dhamas (Holiest of the holy place) out of four Dhamas i.e., Puri, Dwarika, Badrinath & Rameswar. The Main Temple shrine consists of four distinct buildings: The Vimana or the Great Temple Jagamohan or the Hall of Audience Natamandapa or the Dancing Hall Bhogamandapa or the Refractory. The temple has four gates at the Eastern, Southern, Western and Northern mid-points of the outer wall, known as: SIMHADWARA (Lion’s Gate) ASHWA DWARA (Horse’s Gate) VYAGRHARA DWARA (Tiger’s Gate)  HASTI DWARA (Elephant’s Gate) Image Source: Government of Odisha

News Source: The Hindu

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