Temple land grab hits revenue, may harm Rath Yatra
Kendrapara: With a little over a month left for the Rath Yatra at Lord Baladevjew Temple (Tulasi Kshetra) at Ichhapur in this town, the shrine authorities and devotees apprehend that non-availability of funds due to encroachment on temple land might hamper the conduct of the annual festival, a report said.
Since the temple lands remain under encroachment, the funds required for the conduct of rituals and festivals get blocked, the report added.
Ahead of the June 27 Rath Yatra, ceremonial selection of timber for Lord Baladevjew’s chariot, known as ‘Brahma Taladhwaja’, was performed on the occasion of Akshaya Tritiya.
However, with the cost of organising rituals, including the Rath Yatra, going up by Rs 50 lakh annually, the temple is facing a serious fund crunch in organising the annual sojourn of the deities and various other festivals held round the year.
Much of this cost is currently met through donations and auctions of temple shops and offerings, but these sources are proving inadequate.
Devotees and local stakeholders argue that if encroached temple lands are recovered, the financial condition of the temple could improve significantly.
According to Pratap Kumar Mohanty, a local Right to Information (RTI) activist, a 1974 state government order under Sections 6 and 7 of the Endowment Act had officially allotted 866.99 acres of land to Lord Baladevjew.
Despite paying land revenue and water taxes, more than 100 acres of this land remain under illegal occupation. Among the encroachments, 232 acres of land are held by former tenants (marfatdars) while 117.35 acres are with individuals referred to as ‘Sikimi’ tenants.
Meanwhile, no revenue from these lands is being deposited into the endowment trust fund. Only 146 acres under the trust board’s control generate income.
However, these funds are allocated for another Lakshman temple in Kusiapala under the Derabish block, while the rest is spent on temple use.
The temple is situated on 2.2 acres of land, Ratha Danda on 10 acres, a cattle haat on 2 acres and a pond on 8 acres. Meanwhile, the remaining 160 acres of barren land and various unused properties produce zero income.
Even the yield from the 192.86 acres of cultivable land under the direct control of the temple is quite inadequate, which stands at just 350 sacks of paddy annually.
According to Mohanty, the cost of land tax and water charges alone far exceeds the income. Papun Kumar Swain, president of a voluntary outfit, the Baladev Sena, recalled that a meeting chaired by the then Law Minister in 2007 issued directives to the District Collector to recover the encroached land.
However, 18 years later, no concrete action has been taken in this regard. Several locals like Rajesh Kumar Behera blamed both administrative inaction and indifference by the temple trust board for this impasse.
Servitors Gagan Patri, Nrusingha Prasad Patri, Jyotiranjan Patri, and Shashikant Suar said daily rituals, festivals, and Rath Yatra activities require consistent annual funding exceeding Rs 50 lakh.
They argue that public donations, chariot auction proceeds, and sales from the allotment of stalls are not enough.
Given the religious and cultural importance of Tulasi Kshetra, devotees have called on the state government to establish a dedicated administrative mechanism to manage the temple affairs.
Such a step, they believe, would ensure the smooth conduct of rituals and traditions.
Arun Kumar Nayak, Sub-Collector and current chairman of the Trust Board, confirmed that efforts are underway to recover encroached temple lands.
PNN
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