SJTA Files Plaint Against Lord Jagannath's Land Grabbers In Puri

BHUBANESWAR: The Shree Jagannath Temple Administration (SJTA) on Saturday lodged a complaint at Baselisahi police station in Puri alleging fraudulent transactions on land belonging to Lord Jagannath in Matitota Mouza in the district.

“A total of 109 plots of Lord Jagannath have been illegally encroached and efforts are underway to sell the property illegally,” a temple officer said.

SJTA Chief Administrator Arabinda Padhee said that the illegal activities pertaining to the land of Lord Jagannath will not be tolerated. Moreover, he has demanded before the Puri Collector and SP to take stringent actions against the land mafias involved in the illegal work. He has asked the police to find out possible nexus between land mafia and some revenue officials of the govt behind the land grab.

Notably, Jagannath Temple in Puri owns over 60,822 acres of land in Odisha and six other states. As per sources, a total of 60,426.943 acres of land in the name of Mahaprabhu Jagannath Bije, Srikhetra Puri, have been identified in 24 out of the 30 districts of Odisha.